Chapter 347

Su Qiao asked with a displeased expression.

At this moment, Sun Chuanting spoke up: "The Quanzhou Guard has fewer than three thousand men in total, and they are all old, weak, sick, or disabled. The elite troops were all transferred north earlier, so they are completely unable to hold off the Japanese pirates. Moreover, it seems they have an inside man who helped them bypass the Quanzhou Guard's hidden sentries."

201, Japanese pirates at sea!

"An inside man?"

Prompted by Sun Chuanting's reminder, Su Qiao immediately understood.

Indeed, the Japanese pirates were reckless, but their strength was not truly that formidable.

Usually, their invasions involved only a few hundred people, or at most a few thousand in a surprise raid, after which they would burn, kill, and plunder coastal cities.

They never established a foothold inland; once they had looted, they fled.

Their repeated successes were truly due to the assistance of some traitorous Han families.

Although the Japanese pirates were notorious for plundering and were a famous pirate group,

they also engaged in smuggling trade between China and Japan.

Where did these businesses come from?

They were conducted in cooperation with some traitorous Han families within the Great Ming.

Thinking of these traitors colluding with the Japanese pirates to harm their own people, Su Qiao's expression grew stern.

"It seems there are still many parasites within our Great Ming, eating from the inside while betraying the outside!"

"Yes. At this morning's court session, Your Majesty, angered, directly ordered the Quanzhou Guard to launch an attack and eliminate the pirates. We understand Your Majesty's intentions, but the Quanzhou Guard, and indeed all of the Great Ming's coastal defenses in recent years, have been completely ruined. One might say they are rotten to the core. There are simply no troops capable of fighting. How can they possibly fight the Japanese pirates?"

"Then why not try to persuade Your Majesty?"

Sun Chuanting and Du Du Yinxi exchanged a glance and let out a bitter smile.

28 "How could Mr. Su persuade him? Your Majesty is currently in high spirits. The Jianzhou Jurchens and Tatars have been dealt with, internal rebellions have been quelled, and the people's hunger and natural disasters are gradually subsiding. Seeing that the Great Ming is on the verge of a revival, Your Majesty's morale has soared!"

What Du Du Yinxi said was, in fact, far too euphemistic.

To put it plainly and without courtesy, Zhu Youjian has now gotten carried away.

"Then the meaning of the two elders is..."

"Uh... we just want Mr. Su to help persuade Your Majesty, after all, Mr. Su still holds significant weight in Your Majesty's heart."

They could not persuade Zhu Youjian themselves, so they sought Su Qiao to find a way to advise him.

But Su Qiao could not possibly play the fool.

Su Qiao pondered for a moment before asking, "If the Quanzhou Guard is in this state, then are Taizhou, Fuzhou, Huizhou, Chaozhou, and so on, all in the same situation?"

The question from Su Qiao left both Sun Chuanting and Du Du Yinxi momentarily stunned.

The two exchanged a glance and decided to speak the truth, as there was nothing left to conceal.

Even if they concealed it now, Su Qiao would find out soon enough.

"Mr. Su, to be honest with you, indeed, they are all ruined. The coastal defenses in the southeastern region are as flimsy as paper; one poke and they break!"

Both of them felt somewhat embarrassed.

Hearing this, Su Qiao became truly impolite. "Then it is no wonder Your Majesty is angry. They say our Great Ming is the Celestial Empire, but what is the result? The coastal defenses are now like this, all made of paper. There are no hostile forces currently, at most only Japanese pirates appear. But what if an enemy attacks? Do we wait until we have lost territory before trying to find a solution?"

Although Su Qiao's words were impolite,

Sun Chuanting and Du Du Yinxi also had unpleasant expressions, yet they could only nod in agreement.

"Mr. Su is correct; this is indeed the responsibility of us ministers. However, what is most important now is time. We cannot possibly solve all problems at once; we must proceed step by step."

"Then what about the Great Ming's naval warships? Is it difficult for them to sail to sea now? Can they fight?"

"The naval warships are still mostly Fujian ships. Some have not been maintained for a long time and are already ruined, while others are still capable of fighting."

"Very well. Then we must quickly solve the problem of empty ranks and ghost pay in the southeastern guards. The old, weak, sick, and disabled should be sent home. Our Great Ming has so many people; selecting some strong and healthy ones should be easy. Besides, the Jianzhou Jurchens in Liaodong have been dealt with, so that region will not need so many troops. They must surely be distributed to the various guards..."

Although Su Qiao was very angry, he still proposed quite a few suggestions at once.

Sun Chuanting and Du Du Yinxi did not know whether they had listened, but they nodded repeatedly nonetheless.

In the afternoon, Su Qiao entered the palace.

Zhu Youjian had eaten lunch at noon and taken a short nap.

When Su Qiao arrived, he had just gotten up to wash and groom himself.

"Why has Minister Su come? Please, come in!"

"Yes!"

Inside the study, Su Qiao met Zhu Youjian.

It had been nearly a week since he last saw Zhu Youjian, and there were indeed some changes.

There was more confidence on his face, and the Emperor's majesty had grown significantly heavier.

However, his attitude toward Su Qiao remained unchanged.

After all, the Liezulie Sect in the group chat every so often found fault with him and scolded him.

"Su Qing, why have you come to see me today?"

Su Qiao clasped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. This morning, Chief Grand Councilor Sun and Senior Du found me at the Ministry of Works..."

He rattled on, relaying the difficulties Sun Chuanting had mentioned to Zhu Youjian.

The expression on Zhu Youjian's face kept shifting.

Only after Su Qiao finished speaking in one breath did he ask, "Does Su Qing also think my current plan to annihilate the Japanese pirates is wrong?"

"How to put it... Your Majesty is probably not fully aware of the specific situation, so your thoughts are a bit too simple. I believe Your Majesty's desire to avenge the people of the Great Ming is correct; it is a good thing! But one cannot disregard the lives of our Great Ming's soldiers and officers."

"What Minister Su means is..."

"Grand Councilor Sun said that the coastal guards of the Great Ming are basically all ruined. As for the soldiers, most are old, weak, sick, or disabled. The naval warships also have many that cannot sail to sea; they might not even compare to some family merchant ships used for smuggling. I have some ideas."

"Speak!"

"Those traitors! Oh, the villains who colluded with the Japanese pirates to harm the people of Great Ming. Their families smuggled goods, violating the Great Ming laws. Since 603 is so, let us resolve them first. It is said that to repel the foreign, one must first pacify the internal. Once the internal tumors are removed, there will be no way for information to leak out."

"Without traitors passing information, if one Great Ming guard post cannot thoroughly eradicate them and their warships are inadequate, then let several guard posts act jointly. In this way, it will be like a fist clenched, gaining the strength to strike out!"

"Even if the Japanese pirates are formidable, they are merely hundreds or thousands of people, completely incomparable to the Jianzhou Jurchens and Tatars who are skilled in archery and horsemanship. They merely dare to fight desperately. As long as we find their lair, we can severely strike and annihilate a band of Japanese pirate raiders."

"This can also be considered revenge for the people of Quanzhou. As for the remaining issues with the guard posts, it will require Your Majesty to send a powerful minister to rectify them. Clear out the empty rations, empty quotas, and the old, weak, sick, and disabled, then fill the ranks with newly trained soldiers or the elite from Liaodong. Only then can Great Ming's coastal defense recover its vitality."

"Hmm, that makes sense."

Zhu Youjian nodded. He had not thought deeply during the morning court session; he was merely angry, which is why he spoke as he did.

Yet now, he could not take it back. After all, the golden mouth and jade words are final; if he retracts his words, the Emperor's credibility will be lost.

Now, listening to Su Qiao explain in detail, he instantly felt enlightened.

He felt he now had a train of thought for his actions.

"Minister Su truly is the trusted right-hand man valued by Great-Grandfather!"

"Your Majesty overpraises me!"

202, Method to break the deadlock!

Zhu Youjian looked at Su Qiao and thought to himself:

Minister Su is good in every way, except he is too modest.

However, is it precisely because of Minister Su's loyalty and his mindset of seeking nothing that Great-Grandfather valued him?

"Minister Su, who do you think is suitable to go south to Fujian to resolve the matter of the Japanese pirates?"

Zhu Youjian felt that the opinions Su Qiao raised must contain Qiao's thoughts.

Previously, during the morning court, he was controlled by emotion and made an unwise choice.

Fortunately, there was Su Qiao, this trusted right-hand man, to awaken him.

Now, he felt it was better to ask Su Qiao before making a decision.

One reason is that Su Qiao was valued by Great-Grandfather and specially sent to help him.

The other point is that Su Qiao is quite skilled in planning and in seeing the big picture.

He always finds new paths, yet unconsciously completes the layout, fundamentally solving the problem.

The Jianzhou Jurchens were like this, and the rebel armies of Li Zicheng and others were also like this.

Ultimately, it is due to Zhu Youjian's trust.

Su Qiao pondered for a moment and said, "I feel it would be better to let Grand Secretary Sun go."

Grand Secretary Sun refers to Sun Chuanting.