The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Just then, an official in a dark blue uniform came out of the door, holding a tin megaphone, and shouted at the crowd still watching from across the street.

"Unlimited exchange today! Gold and silver of sufficient purity can be exchanged immediately after verification. For those of insufficient purity, please melt them down at the silver melting furnace next door before exchanging. If you want to exchange for paper money, go to the three windows on the left; there are fewer people and no need to queue! Paper money can be used immediately after exchange, just like cash!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a commotion in the line. Several people stepped out of the line and ran to the window on the left, pulling old silver notes from their sleeves as they ran. The rest of the people pushed forward a few steps, squeezing the fat merchant and the tall, thin man together.

The portly businessman steadied himself, brushed the snow off his sleeves, and glanced at the bank entrance in front of him. The morning light was dim, but large candles had already been lit inside the bank.

Behind the ten windows, a dozen candles illuminated the entire room. Behind the windows, abacuses clattered away, and the clerks, without even looking up, performed the tasks of checking the silver, weighing it, stamping it, and handing over the money with practiced ease.

The fat merchant turned to the tall, thin man and said, "Seriously, I didn't believe in those paper money before. They became worthless in less than two years. But this time, the Ministry of Revenue says that the paper money will be issued simultaneously with the new currency, and each one will correspond to a deposit of silver. Do you believe it?"

The tall, thin man took the pipe out of his mouth, thought for a moment, and pointed with the pipe stem at the signboard at the bank entrance: "His Majesty is leading the way by putting his face on the money—do you think he'll let the banknotes become worthless and throw his own face away with them?"

Upon hearing this, the fat merchant said nothing more. He took out a stack of old silver notes from his pocket, glanced at the window on the left, seemingly hesitating whether to exchange them for paper money. In the end, he put the silver notes back in his pocket, muttered "I'll do it next time," and moved forward a few steps with the queue.

A clinking sound of coins came from the front window, and another wealthy merchant emerged from the bank carrying a cloth bag full of copper coins. He grinned and gestured to the person next to him, saying, "New money is so nice! No need to string it together, just dump it into the bag! Before, stringing coins together made my fingers hurt, now it's so much easier!"

……

At this moment, unlike the joyful atmosphere in the outer city, the atmosphere inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation was terribly oppressive. Everyone had their heads down. Liu Mu sat on the heated couch, holding the military report that had just arrived, which was now crumpled.

At this moment, neither Li Guangdi nor Zhou Peigong looked at the other or spoke, neither daring to offend the emperor.

Zhao Lie knelt before the imperial desk, his knees hitting the gold-brick floor. He had just returned from Tianjin, where he was supposed to report on the progress of the transport of Korean youths, but before he even entered the city, the military report from Tsushima Island arrived first.

He wrote to Tsushima Island, and Yoshimasa's entire army was wiped out.

Liu Mu placed the military report on the armrest of the heated couch, picked up his teacup to take a sip to calm his mind, but paused in mid-air and then suddenly smashed the teacup to the ground.

The glass shattered, and a sharp shard grazed his chin, drawing blood that trickled down his neck. Zhao Lie remained kneeling, too afraid to even raise his hand to cover his mouth.

Zongyi truly came from afar; he was Liu Mu's weapon to dismantle the Japanese pirates, but the weapon broke just as it was being sharpened.

This would further delay the attack on the Japanese islands, which made Liu Mu, who was full of anticipation, increasingly angry. He immediately got up and went to Zhao Lie, giving him a good beating.

"I entrust Tsushima Island to you, and put you in charge of the war against Japan," Liu Mu said in a low voice, but each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"What have you given me? Tokugawa Ietsuna is now deploying a large army on Tsushima Island. How are we supposed to launch a cross-sea attack?"

"Do you know that the Japanese islands are a thorn in my side? I can't sleep at night until they're removed!"

Liu Mu was quite strong. Zhao Lie's face turned red as he gritted his teeth, lowered his head and tried to hold on, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth onto the gold bricks, but he didn't utter a sound.

Zhao Lie was an old friend of Liu Mu, having served him from slave to centurion and then to governor of Korea. He knew that Liu Mu was truly angry this time, not the kind of anger that would pass after a few words of cursing. At this time, it was better to keep quiet than to argue.

Moreover, the fact that the emperor chose to beat him personally indicates that he no longer wanted to punish him, and that he might even be able to redeem himself through meritorious service.

"Furthermore, the 20,000 troops that Tokugawa Ietsuna deployed on Tsushima Island didn't arrive overnight. It would take at least five or six days to move troops from Edo, board ships, cross the sea, and reach Tsushima Island. Where were you during those five or six days?"

Zhao Lie spoke up: "Your subject is in Busan."

"Busan." Liu Mu repeated the name of the place. "Busan is only half a day's boat ride from Tsushima Island. They've been fighting on Tsushima Island for five or six days, and you haven't heard a thing."

Zhao Lie had nothing to say. Some of the main fleet ships of the Han Navy were docked in Busan Port, and he also had 12,000 sailors under his command. If he really wanted to send troops to reinforce Tsushima Island, he could at least help Zong Yizhen to evacuate.

However, he was in Busan at the time, busy arranging the transfer of North Korean youths. The task was too urgent, and he was in a daze, so he didn't really pay much attention to Tsushima Island.

However, he was in Busan at the time, busy arranging the transfer of North Korean youths. The task was too urgent, and he was in a daze, so he didn't really pay much attention to Tsushima Island.

However, the fault still lies with him; he wasn't careful enough!

Zhou Peigong finally spoke, his voice low, only Liu Mu and a few others could hear: "Your Majesty, transporting Korean youths and soldiers from Busan is a mandatory task assigned by the court, and Governor Zhao is indeed unable to handle it all."

"I know," Liu Mu interrupted him, his tone slightly calmer. "That's why I didn't kill him. If he were to neglect his duties, I would drag him out and behead him right now."

Seeing that the emperor was still not appeased, Li Guangdi stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, perhaps it was Zong Yizhen himself who leaked the information when recruiting wandering samurai. In this vast sea, even Governor Zhao is unaware of the situation!"

This was meant to give Liu Mu a way out, but Liu Mu neither refuted nor agreed. He simply stood up from the warm couch, walked to the map of the Han Dynasty's territory hanging on the wall, and stared at the location of the Japanese islands for a long time.

Shaking his head, Liu Mu sat back on the heated couch, turning his gaze away from the map of the entire territory on the wall and towards Zhou Peigong and Li Guangdi.

"Tsushima Island is lost, so be it; Yoshizane is dead, so be it. I don't dwell on the gains and losses of a single city or territory. But now, Tokugawa Ietsuna already knows that I'm going to take action against the Japanese islands. He made the first move, so I can't wait."

"Once he fills all the beaches of Kyushu and the main island with fortifications, any naval ships that dock will be sitting ducks. Therefore, I need a viable solution. What ideas do you two have?"

Zhou Peigong and Li Guangdi exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking first. After a few breaths of silence, Zhou Peigong took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, I was the first to point out that attacking the Japanese islands or provoking those who refuse to surrender is something only Kublai Khan has ever done. As Your Majesty knows, both times he encountered inexplicable storms, leading to the annihilation of his entire army!"

Li Guangdi took over the conversation, lowering his voice: "During the two expeditions, the entire fleet was destroyed at sea, and the name 'Divine Wind' originated from that time."

"I have consulted the History of Yuan. Kublai Khan first sent more than a thousand warships, and the second time even more, but both times he encountered storms. From then on, no one in any dynasty dared to mention crossing the sea to attack the Japanese pirates."