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In the third year of the Wanli reign, the spring breeze swept across Jiangnan, bringing not only the new green of willows along the Qinhuai River, but also a new wave of farming that was quietly changing the landscape.

While the "Single Whip Law" streamlined taxation and industry and commerce flourished, Su Ning, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, turned his attention to the most fundamental area of ​​the empire—agriculture.

Suning knows that no matter how prosperous industry and commerce are, without sufficient food security, everything is just a castle in the air.

And his methods once again surpassed the understanding of this era.

On this day, a crop that the people had never seen before appeared in the official fields outside Nanjing and in the demonstration fields of various prefectures and counties.

With creeping stems, heart-shaped leaves, and tubers buried deep in the soil, this is a sweet potato.

Another type is a short, sturdy plant with small white or purple flowers and numerous oval tubers growing underground—this is the potato.

Initially, Suning did not forcefully promote its products, but instead cleverly leveraged the authority of the government and the people's simple belief in "auspicious omens."

He simply ordered local governments to post notices declaring that this was a "superior overseas variety" that the governor had painstakingly found, and that its characteristics were "tolerant of barren soil, drought-resistant, and high yield," making it a "treasure for the people."

In order to gain the trust of the people, he adopted a variety of strategies.

Large-scale planting was first carried out on fields owned by officials at all levels, and AI farmers who knew its habits were responsible for taking care of it. When it was harvested, local gentry and elders were invited to watch, and the mountains of tubers left onlookers speechless.

Through the "Daming Chamber of Commerce" and the Daming Supermarket network, seed potatoes are provided free of charge to farmers who are willing to try planting, along with a concise "Planting Guide" (written by AI, easy to understand).

The Daming Chamber of Commerce promised that if farmers did not wish to consume the harvest themselves, Daming Supermarket would purchase the grains at a price no lower than that of the same weight of coarse grains, thus eliminating farmers' concerns about sales.

At the same time, an edict issued by the Governor-General's Office, entitled "Encouraging the Reclamation of Wasteland," was posted throughout the urban and rural areas.

This decree changed the previous dynasty's strict restrictions on the protection of mountains and forests, and instead encouraged people to cultivate "ownerless wasteland" such as hills and slopes, and clearly stipulated that "newly cultivated land shall be exempt from taxes for three years, and the government shall purchase the grain and vegetables produced therefrom at a fair price."

This order was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake.

For the Jiangnan region, where there is a large population and limited land, especially for tenant farmers and displaced people who have only a small amount of land or no land at all, this is undoubtedly a great blessing.

With the addition of sweet potatoes and potatoes, two crops that are not picky about location and can yield good harvests on barren mountain land, the allure of land reclamation became incredibly strong.

In an instant, many hilly areas in the Zhejiang-Zhili region, which were previously considered "useless" lands unsuitable for cultivation, experienced an unprecedented wave of land reclamation.

Farmers wielded hoes, cut down shrubs, burned vegetation, and transformed hillsides into terraced fields of dry land, planting with hopeful intent the "auspicious plants" from overseas.

However, behind this bustling scene of land reclamation lies a huge hidden danger.

Some insightful people in the area, especially those experienced farmers and gentry who are familiar with farming and understand the local conditions, have expressed their concerns about this.

"Your Excellency's concern for the people and your promotion of new crops and encouragement of land reclamation are certainly good things. However, such large-scale deforestation is probably not a long-term solution!" A retired scholar wrote in a private letter to Su Ning. "Forests are the source of water conservation and the foundation of soil stability. If they are all reclaimed, a sudden downpour will cause soil erosion, silt up streams and rivers, and damage the fertile fields downstream. This is like draining the pond to catch all the fish!"

These voices also reached Suning's ears through various channels.

Suning is not blind to the drawbacks.

His promotion of sweet potatoes and potatoes to rapidly increase total grain output and alleviate population pressure was a stopgap measure to solve the current problems, and also to accumulate more surplus agricultural labor for industrialization.

But he is even more aware of the importance of sustainable development.

Beyond his policies encouraging land reclamation, he was already laying out a longer-term plan.

Suning has taken fast-growing tree species with good soil-stabilizing effects from industrial spaces and promoted their planting in suitable areas. This can serve as a new source of firewood and also help restore vegetation gradually.

Using the wealth accumulated by the Chamber of Commerce and its gradually maturing engineering capabilities, they began planning to build a number of small reservoirs and ponds in the upper reaches of major rivers to store water and prevent floods, and tried to promote simple drip irrigation technology (based on bamboo and ceramic pipes) to improve the drought resistance of mountain crops.

Suning instructed its subsidiary, "Gewuyuan," to begin researching the use of urban sewage, river mud, and plant straw to compost organic fertilizer, and to plan and build small-scale phosphate and potash fertilizer workshops in the future, hoping to improve the local area and reduce its reliance on predatory land development.

Faced with his subordinates' concerns, Su Ning frankly said: "How could I not know that burning forests for hunting is not a long-term solution? However, people's livelihoods are currently in dire straits, and this urgent measure is needed to alleviate their immediate needs. What we need to do is ensure that people are well-fed and clothed, and the preservation of green mountains and clear waters can only be addressed later. Maintaining this balance is crucial to the fate of the nation."

Thus, on the land of Jiangnan, on one side, the rising smoke of land reclamation foreshadowed a short-term bumper harvest and a surge in population; on the other side, the blueprint for long-term ecology and water conservancy was slowly unfolding in the Governor's Mansion.

Suning is forcefully pushing agricultural productivity on this ancient land to leapfrog forward in an almost domineering yet visionary manner, while also presenting the issues of environmental protection and sustainable development to the forefront of this era for the first time in such a sharp and realistic way.

……

In the early summer of the third year of the Wanli reign, the fields in Jiangnan were already lush and green.

Su Ning, the Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, was not content with simply reading agricultural reports from various regions in the Nanjing government office. He decided to travel light and personally go deep into the countryside to see how the "overseas superior varieties" being promoted were growing and to hear the real sounds from the fields.

On this day, a few seemingly ordinary passersby arrived outside a village in Wujiang County, Suzhou Prefecture.

The leader was in his early twenties, dressed in ordinary blue cloth, with a square scarf on his head, looking like a scholar traveling for study or a well-off gentry. Behind him were two capable attendants who looked like servants, but had exceptionally sharp eyes.

They led their horses along the ridges between the fields.

This is Su Ning and his guards, who were traveling incognito to avoid attracting attention from the local authorities.

It's the season when sweet potato vines are growing wildly and potato flowering has just ended.

Suning crouched down to carefully examine the growth of the crops.

He casually parted the roots of a sweet potato plant, saw the tuber that had begun to swell, and nodded slightly.

They then walked to a potato field to observe whether the plants were healthy and whether there were any signs of disease or pests.

His movements were skillful and his gaze focused, which attracted an old farmer who was weeding in the field to stand up and look at him curiously.

"Old man, do you find this overseas item easy to handle?" Su Ning stood up and asked gently in Wu dialect with a slight Mandarin accent.

Seeing his humble attitude, the old farmer lowered his guard and sighed while leaning on his hoe, "Sir, are you asking about these 'sweet potatoes' and 'potatoes'? They're growing very well, requiring less water than rice, and aren't too picky about the soil. The seeds the government issued said they could yield several thousand catties per mu, but I don't know if that's true or not. I just hope that in the autumn harvest, it will be as the government says, and we'll have plenty of grain to eat."

Suning chatted with the old farmer, from the hardships of farming to the payment of taxes, and then to the situation of his children.

He asked detailed questions, and the old farmer gradually opened up.

"It's this reclaimed land..." The old farmer pointed to a newly cultivated hillside in the distance, where the trees had been cut down, exposing the yellowish-brown soil. "The government's encouragement is a good thing, as it has given us more land. But everyone is also worried. With the trees on that hillside cut down, when it rains heavily, muddy water will rush down, silting up the ditches in many paddy fields below. In the long run, we don't know if it will be a blessing or a curse."

These words formed a subtle contrast with the documents praising the achievements of land reclamation that Su Ning had seen in the government office.

He frowned slightly, and made a mental note of it.

Just then, a commotion arose at the village entrance, and several bailiffs dressed in black robes swaggered into the village, the leader carrying a bronze gong.

Upon seeing this, the villagers' faces immediately showed a mixture of fear and helplessness.

"The 'fire tax' is being collected! The 'fire tax' is being collected! It's being levied on a per-acre basis, so get your copper coins and silver ready!" The bailiff shouted loudly while banging a gong, his tone quite arrogant.

Suning's eyes turned cold.

The "Single Whip Law" explicitly stipulated that taxes and corvée labor should be paid in silver, aiming to eliminate extra exploitation. Although this "fire loss" could not be completely eradicated, its blatant and egregious collection clearly exceeded his tolerance limit.

At first, he did not immediately react. Instead, he stepped forward and calmly asked, "Gentlemen, which official document came from which department regarding this 'fire loss' levy? How much is it?"

The head constable glanced at Su Ning's plain clothes and said disdainfully, "Where did this pedant come from, daring to interfere with the affairs of the officials? This is the established rule! Get out of the way and don't obstruct official business!" The guards behind Su Ning's eyes sharpened, and they were about to step forward, but Su Ning stopped them with a look.

He remained calm: "As far as I know, the imperial court is implementing new laws precisely to eliminate such outdated practices. Aren't you afraid of being investigated by your superiors for acting this way?"

"Superior?" The constable sneered. "In Wujiang County, our master is the superior! If you meddle any more, we'll lock you up and take you back to the yamen for punishment!"

Upon hearing this, Su Ning slowly took out his governor's seal from his robes, displayed it before the constable, and his voice suddenly turned stern: "I am Su Ning! I want to see how the magistrate of Wujiang County will punish me!"

That small seal seemed to weigh a ton in the sunlight.

The constables instantly turned ashen-faced, their legs buckled, and they knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Governor...Governor! We were blind! We offended your might! Please spare our lives!"

The surrounding villagers were stunned and immediately knelt down. They never expected that the "young scholar" who had just been chatting with them in the fields was actually Su Zhitai, the powerful Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili!
Ignoring the pleading bailiffs, Su Ning turned to the villagers and said, “Fellow villagers, please rise. The ‘Single Whip Law’ is a benevolent policy of the imperial court, intended to alleviate your burdens. These corrupt officials are taking advantage of the situation to embezzle funds, and I, the governor, will punish them severely! From this day forward, any unauthorized additional levies are strictly prohibited in Zhejiang and Zhili! If you encounter such situations again, you can appeal directly to the prefectural government or even the Nanjing Governor’s Office!”

Upon hearing this, the villagers were moved to tears and cried out, "You are a just and upright official!"

Su Ning immediately ordered his guards to escort the constables to the Wujiang County government office, and ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, and to hold the county magistrate accountable for his negligence.

At the same time, based on the feedback from the farmers, he ordered local governments to plan soil conservation measures for newly reclaimed mountain land, strictly prohibit excessive deforestation and land reclamation, and severely punish violators.

This seemingly accidental undercover visit allowed Suning to truly experience the distortions and resistance encountered in the implementation of the new policy at the grassroots level, and also made him aware of the potential ecological risks that the policy might bring.

He knew that grand plans needed to be implemented in the details, and the hearts and minds of the people were often hidden in the conversations between the fields and the arrogance of the officials.

With deeper reflection and a more resolute determination, Su Ning continued his journey through the countryside, leaving a lasting impression on the fertile land of Jiangnan and the hearts of its people.

Then Su Ning dealt with a large number of officials who outwardly complied with his orders but inwardly defied them with swift and decisive action, and also established the Ming Dynasty's petition system in Zhejiang and Zhili.

Suning used this series of swift and decisive measures to intimidate the Zhejiang and Zhili officials, and from then on, no one dared to openly disobey them.

At this time, officials and the public were discussing that Su Ning was much more ruthless than the previous Hu Zongxian.

Perhaps Hu Zongxian in the past would have paid attention to tactics and methods, but Su Ning directly dug up their ancestral graves.

……

In the late autumn of the third year of the Wanli reign, the air in Nanjing was already chilly, but the Governor-General's residence of Zhejiang and Zhili was filled with a fervent atmosphere of impending war.

After months of meticulous investigation, combined with feedback from the "Ming Dynasty Chamber of Commerce"'s overseas trade network, confessions from surrendered Japanese pirates, and analysis and comparison of massive amounts of information by the AI ​​system, the results were obtained.

Su Ning finally pinpointed the exact location of the main force of the Japanese pirates and their most important lair, a scourge that had plagued the Ming Dynasty's coastal borders for decades.

Surprisingly, to the east of the Ryukyu Islands lies a hidden group of islands called "Yaeyama".

Suning did not rush to take action.

He knew that a long-distance expedition across the sea was no small matter and that he had to plan carefully before taking action.

He then ordered his men to draw up detailed nautical charts, marking the terrain, hydrology, fortifications, and possible escape routes of the Japanese pirates' lair.

At the same time, he mobilized a new type of navy that had been tested and further expanded in the Battle of Taizhou...

This includes the already commissioned "Qiming" and two other newly built steam warships, as well as dozens of large warships that have been modified and equipped with auxiliary steam paddle wheels and new cannons.

On the land side, the experienced former troops of Qi Jiguang's army formed the backbone, and they were equipped with more flintlock muskets and light field guns, and conducted high-intensity amphibious landing exercises.

Once preparations were complete, a heartfelt memorial entitled "Request for the Fundamental Suppression of the Japanese Pirates," rich in evidence and with a clear strategy, was sent to Beijing by express courier.

In his memorial, Su Ning first presented conclusive intelligence: "I have discovered that the remnants of Wang Zhi, the chief of the Japanese pirates, have gathered ronin and pirates from various islands and occupied the Yaeyama Islands east of Ryukyu. They have used these islands as their base to rob merchants and harass the coast. The evidence of their crimes is conclusive." He also attached a detailed investigation report and a copy of the nautical chart.

He then analyzed the strategic necessity: "In the past, the suppression of Japanese pirates was like trying to stop boiling water by adding more water; it could strike their fleeting shadows but not destroy their entrenched roots. Now that we know their lair, if we do not send a large force to wipe them out, they will surely rise again in a few years, and the coastal areas will never have peace."

Finally, he put forward a specific request for battle: "I request the imperial decree to lead the elite naval and land forces of Zhejiang and Zhili across the sea to the east, and strike directly at the bandit's lair in the Eight Mountains. The navy will cut off their external support, and the land forces will land and wipe them out, striving to completely annihilate the villains, burn their camps, and destroy their ships to eliminate future troubles! If this battle is successful, it can ensure decades of peace along the southeast coast!"

When the memorial arrived in the capital, it immediately sparked an even more intense debate in the court than the one following the victory at Taizhou.

Inside the cabinet office, the opinions of several Grand Secretaries were clearly divided.

The supporters, led by Zhang Juzheng, adopted a cautious yet firm stance.

In particular, Zhang Juzheng carefully reviewed the nautical charts and intelligence analysis attached by Su Ning, and his eyes were sharp: "Su Anbang always plans carefully before acting. The victory at Taizhou has already proven his ability. Now that we have a confirmed lair, crossing the sea to annihilate it is the best strategy to solve the problem once and for all! If we hesitate and wait for the Japanese pirates to become alert and move away, we will miss this good opportunity, and the cost of suppressing and pacifying them in the future will be much greater!"

Another official who supported the proposal added: "Your Excellency, Governor-General Su's new-style navy is strong and powerful, and its effectiveness has already been demonstrated in the Battle of Taizhou. The land forces also have many battle-hardened soldiers. If we don't fight now, when will we? Only by eradicating the source of the trouble can we demonstrate the majesty of the Celestial Empire and make the barbarians submit!"

However, the opposition, mainly composed of some conservative nobles and officials worried about finances, also had its own reasons.

"Absolutely not!" an elderly minister with white hair and beard vehemently objected. "A long-distance expedition across the sea, exhausting the troops and attacking from afar, is a major taboo in military strategy! The vast ocean is unpredictable, how can we maintain our food and supplies? If the war drags on, and the troops become exhausted, wouldn't we be repeating the mistakes of the Yuan Dynasty's conquest of Japan?"

"The cost is too high!" The Vice Minister of Revenue immediately began to calculate the economic costs. "Building new warships has already cost a lot. How much silver will be needed for this expedition, including provisions, ammunition, and compensation? The national treasury has only just begun to recover thanks to the Single Whip Law. How can we afford to launch such a large-scale war again?"

Some conservatives were even more worried: "When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders. Governor Su already holds great military and political power in the southeast. If he is also given the power to launch a campaign across the sea, with such a large army in his hands, far away overseas... his power will be difficult to control!"

Although not explicitly stated, this statement points to a deep-seated fear of the excessive expansion of Su Ning's personal power.

The debate lasted for several days, with both sides sticking to their own versions of events and refusing to concede.

The young Wanli Emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, listening to the debate among his ministers, his small face showing a solemnity beyond his years.

He looked at his teacher and Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, and then at the old ministers who were vehemently opposing him.

Zhang Juzheng finally stepped forward and delivered his decisive concluding remarks. Facing the throne, his voice was deep and resolute: "Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates are a deep-seated ailment of the Ming Dynasty. Successive emperors have all sought to eliminate them but failed to find a suitable method. Now that Su Ning has uncovered the pirates' lair and we have a new-style navy to rely on, this is a golden opportunity! If we follow the old ways and hesitate, the Japanese pirates will never be quelled. Hesitation will only lead to further chaos! This old minister believes that we should grant Su Ning's request and grant him the authority to make decisive decisions on the spot, setting a deadline for defeating the enemy! As for funds and provisions, they can be initially drawn from customs revenue and the Jiangnan treasury. After the victory, the spoils of war will replenish the supplies. Moreover, with the coastal areas pacified and trade routes open, in the long run, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks!"

Emperor Wanli remained silent for a moment. He recalled Su Ning's many achievements, as well as the profound issues that might lie behind the name of "integrity," and he understood that Mr. Zhang's mind was made up.

Finally, his youthful yet clear voice rang out in the hall: "Granted. Governor-General Su Ning of Zhejiang and Zhili is hereby appointed to oversee the naval and land forces of the southeast to cross the sea and suppress the Japanese pirates of Yaeyama. He is permitted to act expediently in all matters, and to strive for complete success!"

……

When the emperor's decree and the cabinet's official documents arrived in Nanjing as quickly as possible, Su Ning was already prepared.

He stood on the bridge of the "Qiming" ship, gazing at the massive fleet on the river, its sails like a forest and steam rising in wisps, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"Order! All ships, weigh anchor and set sail according to the predetermined sequence!"

"Target, Yae Mountain!"

"This battle must leave no future troubles!"

The powerful sound of the ship's horn pierced the sky, mingling with the sound of sails billowing. The massive Ming fleet, carrying the will of the empire and the ambition of Suning, slowly sailed out of the mouth of the Yangtze River, cutting through the waves and heading towards the unknown sea in the east, where the empire's nemesis was hidden, advancing without hesitation.

An expedition that will determine the future landscape of the East China Sea for decades to come has begun.

...(End of chapter)