Di Ming

Chapter 46 Popular Science
Ning Caiwei's expression brightened. "The Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary? Those are high-ranking officials! If Godfather could invite one of them to be your teacher, that would be the best opportunity to gain favor from a less favored family."

"The returns on this project are simply incalculable."

"If he really gets reinstated, wouldn't that be your biggest backer? When it comes to politics, background and allegiance are the most important."

He patted Zhu Yin's back as he spoke.

Zhu Yin sat cross-legged on the bamboo mat, his small body upright like a pine tree, but not stiff at all; instead, he had a relaxed feeling.

Ning Caiwei really liked Zhu Yin's sitting posture.

This is a sign of a man's self-discipline and confidence.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be one of those two," Zhu Yin said calmly. "It would be best if it were. Even if it isn't, I can find other powerful backers in the officialdom."

"Even if you can't climb up to the level of a cabinet minister, vice minister, governor, or provincial treasurer, there is still hope for you to climb up to them in the future."

"At the very least, in the early stages, one can at least curry favor with a county magistrate, a leader holding a substantive position at the county level."

"In a county, if we can curry favor with the county magistrate, the county assistant magistrate, the registrar, or even befriend the county clerk, the instructor, the clerk, the secretary, and other important figures in the county, it will be enough for us to live comfortably for several years."

Ning Caiwei is a business tycoon who also enjoys a vice-ministerial political rank. She has never considered low-ranking officials at the section or division level to be important figures.

"Tch, a big shot in the county? He's no big shot at all."

Zhu Yin saw that Ning Caiwei was unconvinced and looked somewhat disdainful, knowing that she came from a very high social class and lacked understanding of the ecological structure of grassroots society.

He reminded him, "We're just ordinary people now. You're not President Ning, and I'm not an agent. We're at the very bottom, you know that?"

“We don’t even have household registration; we’re just vagrants. A single constable can arrest us and confiscate our belongings.”

"It's true that the county clerk is not a high-ranking official; he's not even a ninth-rank official. The six secretaries are just clerks."

"But in a county, they are definitely big shots, officials, people that ordinary people can't afford to offend. As for the county magistrate and other official officials, ordinary people may never even have the chance to meet them in their entire lives."

"You think the county magistrate is a nobody? He's in charge of the administration of an entire county, commonly known as the Marquis of a Hundred Li."

"There were only 1100 counties in the entire Ming Dynasty. The population in the late Ming Dynasty was 200 million, with an average of more than 100,000 people per county. The territory was larger than that of counties in later generations."

"High-ranking officials may not take county magistrates seriously, but ordinary people should never be underestimated. A single word from them can truly ruin our families."

"Therefore, we must be humble and modest. Only when I pass the county-level examination can we stand up straight. Only when I pass the provincial-level examination or enter the Imperial Academy can we truly stand tall and proud."

"Before this, we should be like dragons that need to coil up and tigers that need to lie down. Forget our modern identities for now and just blend in."

"This gap is huge for you. But if you don't change your mindset, you will live a very hard and painful life."

“Once we get to Zhejiang, we’ll try to befriend these ‘big shots’ in the county. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do business. Even if you make a fortune, you’ll be blackmailed into bankruptcy.”

"Your appearance is too outstanding. If you don't have a powerful backer, you're likely to attract trouble. Where in ancient times didn't people forcibly abduct women? You must not be careless."

Ning Caiwei nodded in agreement, "You're right. My mindset hasn't completely changed. We're just ordinary people at the bottom of society. We only made a small fortune thanks to Li Rubai and Wild Boar Skin."

"Although our godfather is famous, he was eventually dismissed from his post and stripped of his salary. He can't protect us. We're lucky if we're not implicated by him."

"So, we can't get fat in one bite. If we take too big a step... once you pass the imperial examination and I've made a lot of money, I'll help my godfather get his official position back."

"He's been reinstated to his official position. With his network of connections activated, isn't he a powerful backer?" Zhu Yin nodded. "My godfather's highest rank was Left Commander-in-Chief, a top-tier military officer who almost received a noble title."

“If he is reinstated to his original position, even if he is a military officer, he will be a powerful backer. If he recruits several thousand more retainers, we will have even more room to manipulate him.”

Ning Caiwei, who wasn't good at history, asked, "Wasn't the Ming Dynasty known for its suspicion of military generals? Why did it allow them to train large-scale private armies?"

Zhu Yin replied, "Ming Dynasty military officers originally had personal guards, but their numbers were very small. The large-scale raising of private soldiers to form an army began in the Jiajing reign."

"Because the garrisons and border troops were in disarray and rotten to the point of being useless, they were unable to cope with the serious situation of the Japanese pirates and the Tatars. The Japanese pirates attacked Nanjing and the Tatars attacked Beijing."

"The Ming Dynasty rulers were forced to tacitly allow military generals to maintain large-scale private armies. How could this have been possible in the past?"

Ning Caiwei understood. "So that's how it is. Even the emperor can only bypass the system to get things done. The administrative system has become rigid and ineffective due to corruption."

Zhu Yin sneered, "The old Taoist knows very well that the corruption of the Ming Dynasty's officials has reached a point where it is difficult to reverse. With the existing system, it will be difficult to train a strong army."

"The only solution is to allow generals to bypass the imperial system and train private armies for the use of the imperial court. Otherwise, the Japanese could really invade the Central Plains."

Ning Caiwei simply asked directly: "It's said that the Japanese pirates were mainly Chinese pirates, isn't that true?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "That was for the sake of face, to confuse the public. During the worst period of the Japanese pirate raids, many Japanese daimyo sent troops to participate in the war."

"The main force of the Wokou was Japanese, not Chinese pirates at all. To say that the main force of the Wokou was Chinese pirates is a deliberate distortion of the truth by Ming Dynasty officials to save face."

"To save face, the emperor had no choice but to believe that the main force of the Japanese pirates was the likes of Wang Zhi. In this way, it would be considered a bandit uprising, not an invasion by a small country."

He took the round fan from Ning Caiwei's hand and fanned himself with it, then continued:
"Later scholars, in order to save face, also came up with the theory of 'ten Japanese and seven Chinese,' as if that would make things look better."

"But later historical research has exposed this fact. The Wokou Rebellion was by no means a 'rebellion' by Chinese pirates, but rather a deliberate invasion by the Japanese."

"The Wokou (Japanese pirates) riots that worsened rapidly during the Jiajing reign can be seen in essence as a Japanese invasion of China. The largest battles even involved tens of thousands of real Wokou."

"A Japanese military headquarters for the invasion of China was even established in Chikuzen, led by Ōtomo Sōrin, the hegemon of Kyushu."

Ning Caiwei thought of something more this time, and said, "The scale and strength of the Japanese pirates' invasion of China depended on whether the Ming army could effectively resist them?"

"If they could, they wouldn't dare to expand the scale of their invasion of China. If they couldn't, then the Japanese daimyo, with their ambitions growing, might unite and launch an even larger-scale war of aggression against China?"

Zhu Yin nodded and smiled, "Although you're not good at history, you're very smart. You can guess the outcome after only hearing half of what's said."

"Yes. Regarding expanding the scale of the invasion of China, besides the Kyushu overlord Ōtomo Sōrin wanting to do it, that Sixth Heaven Demon King also wants to do it."

"Isn't it because you explained it so well?" Ning Caiwei laughed. "If you don't understand, just ask. Who is the Sixth Demon King?"

“Oda Nobunaga has been dead for several years.” Zhu Yin returned the fan to the woman. “His successor was Toyotomi Hideyoshi.”

"So it was him." Ning Caiwei smiled, then her expression turned serious. "Toyotomi Hideyoshi... Is he about to launch an invasion of Korea?"

Zhu Yin's eyes flickered, and in the candlelight, it seemed as if flames were leaping inside.

"Yes, in five years, that is, in 1592, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will launch a large-scale invasion of Korea, intending to conquer Korea first and then the Ming Dynasty. He is extremely arrogant."

"If I can pass the imperial examination this year, I might just happen to be there!"

(End of this chapter)