Di Ming

Chapter 266 The wild boar hide has arrived!
The lamplight cast Zhu Yin's shadow onto the curtain, causing it to sway gently.

The shadow suddenly sat down, picked up a teacup from the table, and kissed its reflection. Then the shadow picked up a pair of lamp shears and trimmed the wick.

The lights suddenly became even brighter.

Zhu Yin sat motionless in front of the lamp, stroking the nearly foot-long fossilized tiger tooth, his eyes appearing even more profound under the light.

The emperor trusted Hao Jie, Yang Shaoyun, and Gao Huai. Now that he had decided to appoint the three as generals, he would soon issue a formal edict, and there was no way to change that.

The problem is that the emperor was completely unaware that these three men were mediocre militarily, even less so than Yang Hao.

Once the three men received the imperial edict, they would immediately select generals, deploy troops, and manage the supply of provisions and military provisions.

It had nothing to do with me at all.

Historically, it was because Li Rusong fought well that the Japanese army suffered losses and was able to stabilize the situation.

But this time, without Li Rusong, if the 100,000-strong army suffered a major defeat in Korea, the situation would collapse.

This was the period when Japan's military power was at its peak, with a population of 16 million and hundreds of thousands of soldiers who had been tempered by war. Among them, there were hundreds of thousands of professional samurai of the rank of gumi-go (head of the guild).

If the Japanese army wins a major victory and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's plan to reward samurai in Korea succeeds, it will further eliminate domestic conflicts and allow his power to expand again.

By then, defeating Japan will be much more difficult. And Japan, having occupied Korea, will be fully capable of launching a large-scale invasion of China.

The Ming Dynasty had a true population of at least 150 to 160 million, ten times that of Japan. However, its military mobilization rate was far lower than Japan's; it possessed vast resources but struggled to mobilize them.

The Ministry of War's roster lists over two million registered soldiers, which sounds terrifying. But in reality, the number of truly capable soldiers is estimated to be only four or five hundred thousand.

The problem is that, given the Ming Dynasty's current tax system and its control over the grassroots, it is difficult to mobilize massive resources to support the war.

Once a large-scale war breaks out, Japan will ultimately be no match for the Ming Dynasty, and defeat is only a matter of time. Even so, the Ming Dynasty will pay a heavy price, with many civilians dying tragically, the nation's vitality severely damaged, and it will be unable to suppress the surrounding foreign tribes.

It would be unacceptable to completely disregard the interests of the nation for personal gain. Zhu Yin was not the kind of person who would disregard national interests for personal benefit.

Even if the emperor doesn't use him, he still has to consider the bigger picture!

Not for the imperial court, but for the Ming Dynasty, for China!
But how do we manage it?
Zhu Yin tapped his fingers on the table. He first thought of the private armed forces he could control: the Jinghai Army, Caiwei's armed merchant group, the Guangming Camp, and the Nanyuan Haiding.

The Jinghai Army consisted of only 70,000 Han Chinese civilians, including men, women, the elderly, and children—equivalent to the population of a low-ranking county in the Ming Dynasty.

With such a small population, even with the implementation of the highly militarized Eight Banners system, the maximum number of troops that could be mobilized would be only a few thousand.

Moreover, not all of the Eight Banners troops could be mobilized.

If everyone goes to fight Japan, what will become of Zhoushan Island and Jingzhou Island (Luzon)? Will the local inhabitants still be able to hold their ground?

The latest news from Southeast Asia is that the United Kingdom of Spain and Portugal is preparing to retaliate against the Jing Navy. They are mobilizing a fleet, recruiting pirates and criminals from various European countries to form a maritime cross, vowing to reclaim Luzon.

The hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in Luzon are not entirely at ease and have not yet been completely conquered.

In this situation, at least 3,000 Eight Banner soldiers would have to remain in Luzon.

Zhoushan Island is too close to the mainland and is also being watched by Japanese pirates and other pirates. Daishan Island also has valuable factories, so at least 3,000 Eight Banner soldiers should be left to guard it.

In this way, the Eight Banners army used to conquer Japan could only mobilize a maximum of 8,000 men, no more.

As for Ning Caiwei's armed merchant groups distributed throughout the country, they could only dispatch 5,000 people to sea. Moreover, these 5,000 people did not constitute an army; they needed to be assembled and trained on an island for a period of time.

Needless to say, the Brightness Battalion, despite having trained for several years, only has five hundred men and is unlikely to leave Baohua Mountain, so there's no need to move them.

The Nanyuan Haiding were all able-bodied men from fishing villages, secretly controlled by Ning Caiwei's merchant guild. Their numbers numbered only a little over a thousand. While described as well-organized, they were not armed and primarily operated as a charcoal-burning and fishing community. Their proximity to the capital meant they couldn't afford to make any significant moves.

Therefore, the only private forces he could use against Japan were 8,000 Manchu bannermen and 5,000 armed merchant corpsmen, totaling 13,000. Ning Caiwei's 5,000 merchant corpsmen were only a supporting force; the real main force consisted of only 8,000 men.

How many Japanese soldiers were there? 150,000 domestically and 150,000 overseas. And this only includes the regular troops who were capable of fighting, not the reserve forces that could be mobilized.

Clearly, without the cooperation of the Ming army in Korea, their small force could not change anything.

Even if they actively helped the Ming army cut off the Japanese army's sea route, the Jinghai Army would suffer heavy losses. How would they deal with the counterattacks from Japan and Spain?
Did they send Tiger Fang agents to assassinate Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Konishi Yukinaga, and others?
Definitely not. Assassination sounds simple, but it's actually a highly difficult espionage mission. The success rate of assassinations has always been very low.

Putting everything else aside, the selection of assassins alone is a huge problem. Anyone willing to carry out such a mission is a suicide squad.

Huya does indeed have intelligence networks in Japan and North Korea, enabling them to accurately obtain enemy intelligence. However, assassinations are a different matter entirely.

Assassination operations are prone to failure, and failure often results in severe damage to the entire intelligence network.

Could they use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to provide intelligence support to the imperial court?

If the Ming army in Korea could obtain timely classified intelligence from the Japanese army, the battle would be much easier. Even if they didn't win, at least they wouldn't suffer an irreversible defeat.

However, the Ming court has always underestimated intelligence, so whether it can effectively utilize intelligence is a huge question mark. Intelligence support alone is certainly not enough.

If the imperial court agrees to conscript Jurchen soldiers and cooperate with the "pirates," the chances of victory will be much greater.

How could the Ming army defeat the Japanese army in Korea while preserving its own strength and minimizing losses?

Zhu Yin thought about it for a long time, but couldn't come up with any more solutions.

If anyone is to blame, it's Emperor Wanli for being too selfish!
Zhu Yin picked up his pen and first wrote letters to Tian Yi and Shen Yiguan. The gist of his letter was that he asked Shen Yiguan to persuade the emperor to conscript Jurchen troops into Korea, and that Tian Yi should use the same tactic as before, sending someone to contact the pirates in Zhoushan, promising them benefits, in order to cooperate with the royal army in the war against Korea.

This was all he could do; whether the emperor would agree was beyond his control.

After Zhu Yin finished writing several secret letters, he sent them out overnight by Tiger Fang agents.

Although Tian Yi was the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he did not live in the palace, so sending messages at night was not a problem.

After doing all this, Zhu Yin finally went to bed.

Ning Qingchen suddenly muttered a few words and kicked off the blanket with her leg. Zhu Yin quickly covered her with the blanket again and tucked it in.

"Healing the common people...adding ten years to one's life..."

"...Grow up quickly..."

Zhu Yin vaguely understood what she was muttering in her sleep, and couldn't help but smile. This little girl, she's gone mad with desire to become a saint.

Gradually, Zhu Yin also fell asleep.

In his dream, he saw the Ming army suffer a crushing defeat in Korea, their entire force wiped out, and the Japanese army storming Shanhaiguan, committing a massacre. In his hazy vision, he saw the Japanese soldiers in armor transform into the Kwantung Army in yellow uniforms…

Zhu Yin anxiously opened his eyes; it was already broad daylight inside. He discovered that his blanket had been tucked in.

Ning Qingchen had already gotten up and was hunched over the table, deducing the prescription. Around him were papers with strange symbols written on them, as well as several precious glasswares containing what looked like suspicious fungi.

Ning Qingchen is a very self-disciplined person. She sets aside several hours every day to do these things, almost without fail.

She has already researched the original manufacturing methods for many drugs, such as allicin, salicylic acid, and penicillin. All that's left is to build a large hospital to conduct clinical trials.

Zhu Yin walked over to her and patted her little head. "I've told you so many times, children shouldn't get up too early, it will affect their development and they won't grow tall."

"I can't sleep," Ning Qingchen said without looking up, her voice still childish. "There are so many patients in the world waiting for me to treat them. Time waits for no one. Alas, if Qingchen doesn't step out, what will become of the people? There's no hospital yet, so clinical trials are difficult to conduct."

After saying that, she picked up a glass of milk from the table, took a sip, and left a ring of milk whiskers without wiping them off.

Zhu Yin said, "I will build a hospital before the end of the year and hand it over to you to be in charge of."

Ning Qingchen shook his head: "It's not that simple. The medicines I successfully developed for later generations were all obtained using primitive methods. Although their pharmacology is sound, they are impure, their reliability is questionable, and their safety is poor."

"Simply put, it has significant side effects and is prone to causing medical accidents. Moreover, these side effects are uncertain and therefore cannot be assessed."

"I need a lot of clinical trial data to optimize the manufacturing method."

As the little girl spoke, she tilted her head to look at Zhu Yin, her mustache still covered in bubbles, making her look rather dim-witted.

“I need many patients as subjects for clinical trials. In later generations, this will be done by volunteers. But in ancient times, I doubt any volunteers would be willing to try new drugs. If a medical accident occurs, it will be a very troublesome matter, a matter of life and death.”

"This is a prerequisite for large-scale production: the method must be perfected in clinical trials to find a balance."

Zhu Yin frowned and said, “Building a hospital is fine, it just requires buying a piece of land and spending a lot of money. But where am I going to find so many patients willing to try the drugs? If an accident happens and the family makes a scene, it will be a huge problem, and my political enemies will use it to attack me.”

Ning Qingchen suddenly smiled, a sweet smile that was also somewhat eerie. "So..." the little girl said, holding up her milk cup, "If you want to conquer Japan, first build hospitals there, and use Japanese people to conduct clinical trials of my new drugs and treatments, constantly accumulating clinical trial records."

"Within two years at most, and with a trial record of tens of thousands of people, I will be able to optimize the best solution. At that time, we will start large-scale production and build more hospitals in China."

Zhu Yin was taken aback and gave the little girl a deep look.

Build a hospital in Japan first? Is it a hospital or a laboratory?
"What, it's not okay?" Ning Qingchen frowned slightly. "Is there a problem?"

“Okay, but there are difficulties.” Zhu Yin said decisively, “The emperor is planning to appoint a man named Hao Jie as the military commissioner. He does not intend to choose me and will issue an edict within a few days.”

"Not you?" Ning Qingchen was immediately disappointed. "Is there any possibility that the Emperor will change his mind?"

Zhu Yin touched his forehead. "It's difficult. Wanli is a very stubborn person, otherwise he wouldn't have fought against his ministers for more than ten years over the succession dispute. Even if he changes his mind, he won't choose me."

Ning Qingchen nodded: "It was Zheng's doing. What should we do? Little Tiger, if you don't go, they might lose the battle. If the Ming army is defeated, will the Japanese army invade China and destroy the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "That's impossible. This isn't the end of the Ming Dynasty. No matter what, the imperial court still has hundreds of thousands of elite troops. They can afford to lose. Even if they suffer a crushing defeat in Korea, they can still continue to fight Japan. In the end, it's Japan that will lose."

"However, China will also suffer a great loss of strength and countless deaths. The Mongols and Jurchens will not be able to control it."

Ning Qingchen clenched her little fists, "That's why the Ming Dynasty cannot be defeated!"

Her expression suddenly became a little strange. "Little Tiger, if... I mean if, if the imperial court really suffers a major defeat in Korea and the situation becomes chaotic, is there any chance for us to take advantage of the situation to raise an army and seize the coastal provinces?"

"In that case, wouldn't we just establish our own independent kingdoms? We wouldn't have to put up with that damn emperor's wrath anymore!"

Zhu Yin shook his head again, "I have considered this possibility, but it would be a terrible move. First of all, if we take advantage of the court's defeat to start a rebellion, the ones who will benefit are Japan and foreign tribes. It will not benefit China at all; it will only be internal strife, making wedding clothes for the enemy."

"In order to suppress us, the imperial court might even betray national interests and join forces with Japan and other foreign tribes to suppress us. At that time, the world will be in chaos, your sister's business plans will be wasted, we will lose our source of income, and we will surely be defeated."

"Our troops are too few, and our technology is not far ahead. We do not have the advantage of overwhelming the enemy. Although the firearms and cannons produced in Daishan are more advanced than those of the Ming army, the technical threshold is not high and they can be easily copied."

"You think we're a united front? That's because we haven't rebelled yet. If we really raised the banner of rebellion, the court only needs to issue a bounty, and there might be people within the Jinghai Army who would trade my head for an official position. Some soldiers and civilians would break away from the Eight Banners and surrender to the court. Do you believe it or not?"

Ning Qingchen's face immediately darkened, seemingly a little unconvinced. While making Zhu Yin a cup of milk powder, she said:
“Sigh, if only we could just rebel. My sister and I are always worried that you will be imprisoned. My sister is always thinking about how to get you out of prison if you are imprisoned.”

Zhu Yin continued, "Do you really think the imperial court and the emperor's titles are fake? Their appeal is as solid as a towering mountain. The Wanli reign is still a prosperous era on the surface, but try rebelling. How stupid would I be to rebel with such a small force?"

"Was She Chongming not formidable? He and his An clan had over ten thousand fierce chieftain soldiers, and they rebelled at the end of the Ming Dynasty. What was the result? They were defeated, killed, and their families were exterminated. Do you think we are stronger than She Chongming now?"

"Zheng Zhilong's navy had 80,000 men, tens of millions of taels of silver, and a lot of foreign firearms. Wasn't he stronger than us? But what happened? He still obediently surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. And that was at the end of the Ming Dynasty."

Ning Qingchen handed over the milk and said, "But we are transmigrators. What are the advantages of transmigrators?"

Zhu Yin took the milk and took a sip. "It's because we are time travelers that we have achieved this momentum and created this situation in just a few years, but that doesn't mean we can rebel now."

"If we were to rebel during the Qing Dynasty, under the banner of nationalism and with the help of anti-Qing public opinion, our strength would barely be enough to rebel, and the chances of success would not be small."

"But the Ming Dynasty is a Han dynasty with over two hundred years of foundation. The legacy of the founding emperor is still intact, and the people are still living a decent life. How many people are willing to risk the extermination of their clan to rebel with us?"

Ning Qingchen sighed, "How much longer do we have to wait? You're an official in the court, and I'm always worried that Zheng will harm you, or that the emperor will take action against you."

Zhu Yin thought for a moment, "I don't know either. We'll take it one step at a time. I estimate it will take another ten or eight years before we're fully prepared. We need to lie low until we're 80% sure. Rebellion and seizing power isn't a dinner party; we can't rush things."

Ning Qingchen changed the subject, saying, "The quinine trees I've been cultivating for several years are almost fully grown. Next, I'll be researching the best method for making quinine frost. Little Tiger, when are you going to see Li Shizhen?"

Zhu Yin said, "Today. Wild boar skin will be coming today. After I see Wild Boar Skin off, I'll go see Li Shizhen. Don't worry, I'll definitely persuade Li Shizhen and the others to cooperate with you."

As the two were talking, a beautiful snake emerged from behind the brocade couch, its forked tongue flicking out as it cowered.

Ning Qingchen reached out and grabbed A Jin, laughing, "A Jin, are you cold? I'll light a stove for you today."

Zhu Yin looked at the beautiful snake he had brought out from the Nanjing Imperial Examination Hall, and suddenly thought of something. He asked:

"Qingchen, I heard from your sister that you also research poisons?"

Ning Qingchen nodded. "We've already developed several poisons, but the effects aren't very satisfactory; they're not much stronger than arsenic."

"Well, doctors aren't supposed to research poisons. But I'm just trying to help you, you know, what if you want to poison someone someday, right?"

As she spoke, she stroked the snake, "Little Tiger, you're a cunning agent, you won't object to me researching poisons, right?"

Looking at Ning Qingchen's innocent and charming face, which could express both joy and anger, Zhu Yin didn't know what to say.

"Alright." Zhu Yin patted her head. "But poison is a dangerous substance. You must be careful with it. You must be extremely cautious with this kind of thing."

Ning Qingchen nodded, smiling and revealing a pair of adorable dimples. "I know, I'm not a three-year-old. Go wash up, I need to start my research. Don't forget to see Li Shizhen and the others."

After Zhu Yin turned and walked away, Ning Qingchen called out again, "Little Tiger!"

"What?" Zhu Yin turned his head and met Ning Qingchen's black gem-like eyes.

Ning Qingchen asked in a cute and innocent voice, "Do you have time to teach me calligraphy and playing the piano?"

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "If you're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach you."

After speaking, he turned and left.

Ning Qingchen stroked the snake, watching Zhu Yinqing's retreating figure, her smile a little mischievous, like a cunning little flower in bloom.

After Zhu Yin finished washing up, Jin Yunniang, holding a goose with a red string tied around its beak, came forward and said:

"My lord, I have prepared the wild goose, the betrothal letter, and the red silk. Shall we go to Madam Qin's residence now to formally propose marriage and inquire about the bride's name?"

"And geese?" Zhu Yin was a little surprised. "Weren't white geese used as a substitute? Geese are not easy to catch alive."

Jin Yunniang smiled and said, "It was caught by the lord's flying tiger. The flying tiger flew around the Western Hills and caught a wild goose. The lord and his wife are very lucky."

Zhu Yin stroked the goose's feathers and laughed, "Take it away! Tell my wife to rest well at the mansion these days and not to worry about the business."

Jin Yunniang put the wild goose on the ground and said, "I'll help my lord comb his hair first before I go. Since my wife isn't here, I'll do it for him."

Zhu Yin sat down cooperatively and let Yunniang help him with his hair.

As Yunniang skillfully combed his hair, she said:
“This morning, I had just gotten up when a young man came to the gate. He was handsome and refined, and very presentable. He said his surname was Wu, that he knew the lord, and that the lord had even received gifts from him. He wanted to come into the mansion to pay his respects to the lord.”

"A young man surnamed Wu?" Zhu Yin was taken aback. "I even received a gift from him?"

He pondered in his mind, but never recalled receiving a gift from a boy surnamed Wu.

Seeing Zhu Yin shake his head, Yunniang laughed and said, "I knew he was lying. He just wanted to sneak in. In recent years, many people have tried to sneak in. Good-looking young men like him are the best at deceiving people... Uh, my lord, I'm not talking about you. Humph, when I was seven years old, I was tricked out of two fish by a handsome young man and cried for days. Do you think I would fall for that again?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin felt a strange sensation. A young man surnamed Wu?

The surname Wu has special significance for him.

Jin Yunniang had finished her hair and was about to leave when Zhu Yin suddenly laughed:
“Yunniang, I know that you and Kangxi are in love with each other. He also asked me for your hand in marriage. If you agree, we will hold your wedding next month. My wife and I will officiate the wedding. You will get married together with Hongxiu and Cao Wenzhao.”

Jin Yunniang was immediately filled with both shyness and joy. Her face flushed red, she quickly and gracefully bowed, saying, "Yunniang thanks my lord..."

Zhu Yin helped her up, saying, "We've been through thick and thin together, so we're practically family. My wife and I have never treated you like an outsider, so don't be distant."

"Uh, so you agree?"

Yunniang covered her face with her sleeve, and said with a smile through her tears, "Yes, I know, I won't thank you."

Zhu Yin said, "Go ahead, come back at noon."

"Yes." Yunniang bowed respectfully, her face flushed, and carried Dayan away to arrange the betrothal and name inquiry.

Zhu Yin had a quick breakfast and had just arrived at the central courtyard when the gatekeeper announced his arrival:
"Master! A few men from Northeast China have arrived. They don't seem to be Han Chinese. They say they wish to see you..."

Before the servant could finish speaking, Zhu Yin immediately walked out.

The wild boar hide has arrived!
P.S.: Don't worry, Little Tiger won't be a stepping stone for others; he'll get the anti-Japanese military power in the future. This chapter actually answers a question many readers were concerned about: why not just rebel directly? The truth is, Little Tiger doesn't have the conditions to rebel directly right now. Also, Little Tiger and Wild Boar Skin finally meet! The author isn't a Qing Dynasty fan; I just wanted to depict Wild Boar Skin's situation relatively objectively, without glorifying Nurhaci. Thank you, goodnight!

(End of this chapter)