My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 249 "Memorial Requesting the Office of Transmission to Concurrently Take Charge of Coastal Intelligence"

"This is?"

Su Ze sat in Yang Sizhong's office and handed Yang Sizhong a copy of Wu Shaozu's letter.

"Da Yintai, this is a copy of a secret letter from Chief Wu of the Ryukyu Office, sent by the governor of Dengzhou, Laizhou and Tuzhou. Chief Wu's secret report should be delivered to the capital in a couple of days."

Yang Sizhong's expression was serious.

Wu Shaozu was his subordinate, and the Ryukyu Office of General Affairs was established at the request of the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service.

But Wu Shaozu hadn't even taken office yet when this problem arose.

However, Yang Sizhong felt mostly fortunate.

Fortunately, Wu Shaozu was a cautious man and noticed something amiss before even reaching Ryukyu.

If Wu Shaozu and his men were to fall into the lion's den, and the Ryukyu Office of General Affairs were to fall into the hands of the Japanese, then the Office of General Affairs and Postal Services would truly become a joke.

Yang Sizhong was immediately filled with anger.

The Japanese are treacherous and ambitious; they even wanted to imprison and control the Ming Dynasty's special envoy!

Yang Sizhong looked at Su Ze and asked:

What are Su Hanlin's thoughts?

Su Ze directly expressed his opinion, summarizing it in one word: "Fight."

Yang Sizhong looked at Su Ze, then hesitated again.

There was no way around it; the Wokou raids in the southeast had such a profound impact on the Ming Dynasty that all the ministers who experienced them were left with psychological trauma.

The fight against Japanese pirates in the southeast almost destroyed the entire economic center of the Ming Dynasty. The pirate raids lasted for so many years, and the imperial court invested a great deal of manpower and resources.

In the end, all they did was drive out the Japanese pirates.

The Japanese pirates who burned, killed, and looted in the Ming Dynasty were just ronin from Japan and Ming Dynasty pirates disguised as Japanese pirates.

In the end, the anti-Japanese war led by Hu Zongxian had no impact on Japan.

The Japanese who controlled Ryukyu this time were clearly not ordinary Japanese.

Yang Sizhong was well-informed and knew that Japan was in a state of chaos, with local lords known as "daimyo" ruling their own territories.

Those who could extend their reach into Japan were naturally lords of the "daimyo" rank.

If war were to break out, it would be against the Japanese pirates' forces on their home turf.

If the war escalates and evolves into something like the Southeast Asian pirate raids, no minister could bear such political consequences.

Therefore, when Su Ze proposed to use force and send a fleet to Ryukyu to drive out the Japanese forces occupying Ryukyu, even Tongzheng Envoy Yang Sizhong hesitated.

Seeing Yang Sizhong's expression, Su Ze thought to himself, "Just as I expected."

His guess was correct; all the ministers were terrified by the Japanese invasion.

This fear wasn't because the Japanese were powerful.

For example, if you are a hero and a thief is eyeing your property, you can certainly defeat the thief in a head-on fight. However, the thief is watching you day and night, waiting for you to be careless before making his move.

Even if you are very strong, you are still afraid of being targeted by thieves.

That's how the Japanese pirates were; they hid on the other side of the sea, their lives were worthless anyway.

They harass the seas and plunder villages of the Ming Dynasty; if they succeed even once, they make a fortune.

If we fail, then so be it, we die.

Su Ze said:

"Da Yintai, the Japanese are afraid of power but not of virtue. If we are tolerant in every way, they will take advantage of us. But if our Ming Dynasty shows strength, the Japanese will submit because of the strength of our Ming Dynasty."

This reason was naturally insufficient to convince Yang Sizhong.

Su Ze also understood that these were not enough to persuade Yang Sizhong, which showed just how great the resistance was to launching a military campaign against Ryukyu.

However, Su Ze didn't want Yang Sizhong's team to make a statement. He continued:

"Regarding the matter of Ryukyu, I, Su, will naturally submit a memorial. However, there is one matter concerning the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service."

Hearing Su Ze say this, Yang Sizhong's expression softened somewhat, and he said:
"please say."

Su Ze said:

"Chief Wu said that these Japanese are hiding in the capital, spying on our Great Ming."

Yang Sizhong said, somewhat puzzled:
"This matter will naturally be handled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Su Ze said:

"The Japanese pirates and spies in the capital should naturally be dealt with by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but if these Japanese pirates dare to impersonate an envoy and infiltrate the capital, what about the other open ports? What about Korea?"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has no jurisdiction over matters in these places."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was originally an imperial ceremonial guard, but as imperial power expanded, it gradually became a judicial and investigative agency.

However, the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard was definitely not the tightly organized intelligence agency depicted in later films and television dramas. In reality, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's main area of ​​activity was the capital city.

In addition, under special circumstances, the Embroidered Uniform Guard also had the function of being dispatched to gather military intelligence.

However, just as officials in the capital were unwilling to leave, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were also unwilling to leave the capital.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had very little influence in local areas. If a major case occurred, the capital had to send people down to handle it.

Su Ze continued:

"If we wait for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to send people to start investigating from the local areas, the Japanese will have already fled."

“And the offices of my Office of Transmission are located in coastal ports, important cities, and even in North Korea.”

"In that case, why not hand it over to the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to investigate Japanese spies?"

Yang Sizhong's expression changed immediately.

No department can resist the temptation to expand its power.

The reason why the Office of Transmission could be transformed from a department behind the Nine Ministers into a department in the first tier, second only to the Six Ministries, is that the Office of Transmission was renamed the Office of Transmission and Postal Services, and its power expanded.

With the expansion of departmental power, Yang Sizhong's status as the Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs naturally rose as well.

However, the current Office of General Affairs and Postal Service still has relatively little real power.

Local post stations, official document delivery systems, and the watchtower function of local communications offices.

Su Ze took out a memorial and handed it to Yang Sizhong.

Memorial Requesting the Office of Transmission to concurrently take charge of maritime intelligence gathering.

In his memorial to the throne, Su Ze wrote:

"I have heard that barbarians are like jackals and wolves, fearing power but not virtue. Recently, I have observed that the Japanese in the southeast are acting like wolves and owls, secretly sending spies to infiltrate the Ryukyu tribute envoys and secretly track down the capital region to spy on military secrets."

"Even worse, they attempted to kidnap high-ranking officials of the Celestial Empire and falsely issue decrees. Their intentions are worthy of condemnation! If this villain is not eliminated, not only will the coastal areas be unsettled, but the secrets of the nine border regions and the garrison of the capital will also be spied upon, shaking the very foundation of the nation."

This is a typical approach used by civil officials.

Su Ze then wrote:

“According to the old system, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for investigation, but its eyes and ears were limited to the capital region. Now, in the open ports and Korean vassal states, Japanese spies are rampant as if they were in an empty land.”

“Local officials, either because their duties are not specific or because they lack the capacity, often miss opportunities to fight.”

"I observe that the Office of the General Administration of Posts and Telecommunications has been established in various prefectures and counties along the coast, serving as the eyes and ears of the court. If it were granted the power to investigate spies, the movements of the Japanese pirates could be reported to the emperor day and night."

Su Ze then wrote: "All open ports, the Office of the Ministry of Justice of vassal states and local offices of officials are authorized to investigate spies from foreign vassal states and record their appearance and behavior to be reported to the capital."

"If you encounter a suspicious person, you may, together with the local military commissioner, detain and question him, but you may not set up a private prison."

"All intelligence reports involving important military and national affairs shall be sent directly to the Office of Transmission for confidential reporting, without going through local authorities."

Finally, Su Ze wrote:
"In this way, the coast will be at your fingertips, and a net will be woven across the vast sea, eliminating the threat of Japanese spies."

After reading Su Ze's memorial, Yang Sizhong's breathing became slightly rapid.

The offices of the Ministry of Justice were all located in important places, and when the staff of the offices were being assigned, Su Ze stuffed eunuchs and members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard into them.

In this way, it became a matter of course for the Bureau of Affairs to be in charge of spies from the outer regions.

Of course, Yang Sizhong was a seasoned veteran of the officialdom, and he certainly wouldn't be swayed by Su Ze's few words.

After putting down the memorial, Yang Sizhong asked:

"Where does the money come from?"

Every department needs funding to get things done; you can't expect the Office of the Ministry of Justice to pay for it out of its own pocket, can you?
Moreover, intelligence work is the most expensive, whether it's buying intelligence, developing informants, or recruiting people, all of these require funding.

Where does the huge sum of money needed for all these administrative offices along the coast of the country come from?

This is the issue that Yang Sizhong is concerned about.

If the emperor and the Grand Secretaries do not allocate funds, then Su Ze's memorial will be rendered meaningless.

Su Ze said:

“The funds should naturally be allocated from the border defense fund.”

Yang Sizhong looked at Su Ze and said:

"If Hanlin Su can get this money from the Ministry of Revenue, I will definitely have the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics arrest a few Japanese spies for you."

As expected of an old fox, Yang Sizhong saw through Su Ze's scheme immediately.

The Ming emperors and their officials were not necessarily completely unaware of the Japanese infiltration of Ryukyu.

For example, regarding the tribute of Japanese swords in the first year of the Longqing reign, the entire Ming Dynasty glossed over the matter. Only the Fujian Maritime Trade Office suggested reducing the frequency of tributes from Ryukyu, and the court immediately approved the suggestion.

We can't really blame the Ming Dynasty. In the first year of the Longqing reign, the situation was such that it simply couldn't afford the cost of another Japanese pirate raid.

Now that the situation has improved, the Ming emperors and ministers still do not fully understand the importance of overseas vassal states, and their attitude toward Ryukyu is probably one of "better to avoid trouble."

This was the situation in the timeline before Su Ze's transmigration. Although there was official and civilian intelligence about Ryukyu being infiltrated by Japan, neither the Ming Dynasty nor the Qing Dynasty paid much attention to it.

Ryukyu initially paid tribute to both the Ming Dynasty and Japan, but later paid tribute only to Japan.

It wasn't until 1879 that Matsuda Michiyuki led the Japanese army into Shuri Castle, and Mao Fenglai, the last Sanji official of Japan, smashed the crown of the Sho clan, thus announcing the end of the Ryukyu monarchy.

Ironically, Mao was eventually forced to wear a kimono and submit to Japan, and Ryukyu was completely controlled by Japan.

However, the impact of infiltrating Ryukyu on the Ming Dynasty's rulers and officials was different from that of infiltrating the Ming Dynasty.

If the Japanese openly infiltrate the Ming Dynasty, then they truly harbor wolfish ambitions towards the Ming, and the Ming emperor and his officials will certainly take the initiative to retaliate.

In the previous timeline, during the Wanli era, the Japanese invaded Korea. The Wanli Emperor in that timeline launched a war to resist the Japanese and aid Korea, ultimately thwarting the Japanese invasion.

Not to mention this Ming Dynasty, which has been completely altered by Su Ze, but whose national strength has long surpassed that of the previous timeline.

Su Ze came out of the Office of General Affairs, seemingly to persuade Yang Sizhong, and it seemed that he had received another preliminary task from Yang Sizhong.

Why do these games feel like they're becoming more and more generic and predictable?

Su Ze had no choice but to start running errands again, this time to the Ministry of Revenue.

This time, Su Ze went directly to the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, where he was temporarily assigned.

Su Ze was so confident in agreeing to Yang Sizhong's request because the budget for the border defense funds was controlled by the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission.

Su Ze did not go directly to pay his respects to Ge Ye, the chief official of the Shandong Division and the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Instead, he went to the Commercial Tax Bureau under the Shandong Provincial Administration and sought out his old subordinate, Wei Yun.

Wei Yun has been promoted from the position of Principal Clerk in the Ministry of Revenue to Assistant Minister of Revenue, and his appointment as the Chief of the Commercial Tax Bureau was also due to Su Ze's recommendation in a memorial to the throne.

Therefore, according to the rules of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, Su Ze was Wei Yun's recommender and former superior, so their political relationship was already established.

Although Wei Yun was Zhang Juzheng's disciple, while Zhang Juzheng was still in the court, he still had to consider Zhang Juzheng's interests and could not betray his mentor.

However, anyone with a modicum of common sense understands that it's only a matter of time before Su Ze joins the cabinet, and Zhang Juzheng is a generation older than Su Ze. So, how Wei Yun will treat Su Ze is self-evident.

Wei Yun received Su Ze respectfully and personally served him tea. Then he listened attentively as Su Ze explained his purpose.

After listening, Wei Yun said:
“Entai, this year’s border defense funds were cut in half by Grand Secretary Zhang, and most of them were used for the construction of the Tongliao fortress.”

"Entai" is an honorific title for the Lord.

"The nine border regions are all vying for this little bit of remaining silver. If we squeeze any more out for the Office of General Affairs and Postal Service, I'm afraid even Grand Secretary Zhang will have a hard time getting it approved?"

Su Ze nodded in understanding, and then asked:

"I remember that half of the border defense funds came from the emperor's private treasury, that is, from the Golden Flower Silver, and the rest came from salt tax and miscellaneous levies, right?"

Wei Yun nodded and said:

“What Entai said is correct. In the early days of the dynasty, the border defense funds all came from the salt tax. After the opening of the Sino-foreign trade system was abandoned, half of the border defense funds were allocated from the gold and silver treasury and supplemented by the imperial treasury.”

Su Ze said:

"In that case, it is indeed inappropriate to allocate border defense funds to the administrative offices of port cities."

Hearing this, Wei Yun breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Ze was his patron, so he naturally had to follow Su Ze politically.

However, the reduction of the border defense funds was a policy set by Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. As an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wei Yun naturally had to speak from the perspective of the Ministry of Revenue.

Su Ze continued:

"However, the affairs of border defense are arduous. The border reserve fund was originally set up for the nine border regions, but the territory of our Great Ming Dynasty is far more than just the nine border regions."

"Entai?"

"The sea stretches for thousands of miles and is also part of the territory of our Great Ming Dynasty. Defending against enemies at sea is naturally a form of border defense."

“Maritime defense should be separated from the defense of the nine border regions. A special fund should be set up for maritime defense and border defense, which should be used exclusively for maritime defense.”

Su Ze's train of thought flowed more smoothly, and he said:
"The gold and silver taels come from land taxes. Your Majesty uses the gold and silver taels from the imperial treasury to supplement the expenses of the border defense army. So, the silver taels for coastal defense should come from the maritime trade tax, right?"

Wei Yun was a little confused by Su Ze's train of thought, but upon closer reflection, it seemed that what Su Ze said actually made sense.

If gold and silver were used to supplement the silver reserves for border defense on land, then it would seem only natural to use maritime trade taxes to supplement the silver reserves for coastal defense.

Su Ze bowed to Wei Yun and then said:

"I won't go to pay my respects to Chief Ge."

After Su Ze finished speaking, he turned and left.

It seems we need to address the money issue as well.

Back at the Imperial Household Department, Su Ze once again pulled out a blank memorial.

He crossed out the original name of the memorial and changed it to—

Memorial Requesting the Establishment of a Coastal Defense Reserve and the Concurrent Management Office's Control of Coastal Intelligence.

(End of this chapter)