Chapter 1068: The Underlying Tone of the Japanese is Inferiority

In the Ming Dynasty's foreign relations, the Emperor was the most ruthless toward Japan, without exception. This was not the Ming Emperor showing his cruelty, but that he had to give the people an answer, an answer to the Japanese piracy during the Jiajing reign.

Xiong Tingbi clearly continued this style. This battle plan, written with arrogance, was Xiong Tingbi's reduction of the Edo River samurai.

Zhu Yijun didn't know how Xiong Tingbi persuaded these samurai to die. With such a crazy plan, didn't the Japanese samurai know how to oppose it? Hojo Ujimasa and his son Ujinao surrendered to the Ming Dynasty; didn't they oppose it either?

Because he was thousands of miles away, the reply he gave to Xiong Tingbi only urged him to be careful. If he truly couldn't sustain it, returning to the Ming Dynasty was fine; the Ming Dynasty could start over many times.

The Edo River in November was like a beautiful painting.

Looking into the distance, the Kanto Plain was vast and boundless, like a golden ocean. Fallen leaves swayed gently in the autumn wind, reflecting the setting sun like blood on the horizon. The distant mountains were like black, the layered forests were dyed, the maple leaves were like fire, and the pines and cypresses were evergreen. Countless colors were like splashing ink, outlining this painting named "Peace."

The Edo River, like a silver ribbon, meandered through this painting and stretched into the distance.

Right at the mouth of the Edo River, the magnificent Edo Castle stood by the rushing river. This city was still not finished; only the castle's central keep was completed.

The vermilion pillars of the keep and the white walls set each other off, appearing particularly striking in the colors of late autumn and early winter. Layer upon layer, with flying eaves and upturned corners, the green tiles on the roof shone brightly under the setting sun.

The windows of the keep were like deep eyes, overlooking the entire city and the surrounding mountains and rivers. And Xiong Tingbi stood on the highest floor, overlooking the entire Edo Castle.

Pedestrians in the city shuttled like weaving, including samurai in samurai clothes, busy merchants, hurried commoners, and fishermen carrying baskets selling freshly made fish balls everywhere.

"Before Governor Xiong came here, this was just a wasteland. The conflicts between samurai and farmers never ceased. Even the river water was turbid and fishy, mixed with too much flesh and blood of the common people. The land was abandoned, and wild beasts in the mountains attacked the villages. But the samurai, who shouldered the responsibility of protection, were drinking and feasting in the corridors."

"After Governor Xiong arrived with the heavenly troops, everything was changing. The common people had their own surnames, village settlements were gradually forming, and there were even earthen walls about three zhang high to protect their children and homes. The villagers were organized, used the farm tools in their hands to kill the man-killing wild beasts, and repelled the bandits and samurai who came to plunder."

"Respected Governor Xiong, as a daimyo who has guarded this land for generations, I, on behalf of the people here, once again sincerely thank you for your kindness and mercy. We have built this insignificant keep for you to express our gratitude." Hojo Ujimasa knelt on the ground and said very respectfully.

Today was the day the keep was completed. Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi used the prisoners of war from Odawara Castle to complete the construction of the keep. It was not insignificant; it was the keep with the highest regulations in all of Japan.

Xiong Tingbi came to inspect, but remained silent throughout the process.

For Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi, the Xiong Tingbi in front of them was a person they couldn't understand, because Xiong Tingbi was very, very contradictory.

On one hand, he had a strong physique and martial power that could be called a fierce general. On the other hand, he also had the Confucian elegance and ease of a Confucian scholar. Contradictory aura, contradictory person.

"The prosperity of the Edo River today all depends on the management of Governor Xiong. I believe that before long, all of Japan will be shrouded in your kindness and mercy!" Yuan Zhi also knelt on the ground, bowed his head, and said.

Xiong Tingbi remained silent for a long time. This silence made Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi feel somewhat lost and uneasy. Could it be that Xiong Tingbi was not satisfied with the construction of the keep?

Or was it not magnificent enough, not exquisite enough, making the Governor disappointed!

"Your salary is my salary, your actions are my actions, all are the fat and grease of the people." Xiong Tingbi finally spoke. As soon as he opened his mouth, he stunned Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi.

It wasn't that their Chinese wasn't good. The public officials and daimyo of Japan all learned Chinese and used Chinese characters. They certainly knew the meaning of these words.

"I humbly request the Governor to punish us!" Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi were completely panicked. Was it time to kill the donkey after the millstone was used? This was their subconscious reaction.

When Xiong Tingbi saw the appearance of these two guys, he knew what they were thinking. He shook his head and said, "At first, I was very opposed to the construction of the Edo keep. I am not a Japanese daimyo. According to the Ming Dynasty's ritual system, I should build a Governor's Office, not a keep."

"The keep is much, much more expensive than the Governor's Office. Timber, stone, labor—spending these on reclaiming wasteland, I don't know how much good farmland could have been opened."

"I want to tell you that our salary and our food, clothing, housing, and transportation are all supported by the common people. We must always remember this point: it is all the fat and grease of the people."

"Get up."

In the end, the keep was still built, mainly out of consideration for the symbol of rule. If one wasn't built, these Japanese wouldn't know that this land had changed owners.

"Thank you for your teaching!" Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi were confused, but they still stood up.

Xiong Tingbi felt that he was somewhat casting pearls before swine. Talking to these Japanese ruling classes about loving the people, responsibility, and commitment was completely in vain. He felt that these things were a matter of course, but these meat-eaters couldn't understand them at all.

When they couldn't understand, they thought Xiong Tingbi was making things difficult for them. Of course, they didn't have the environment to understand the meaning of these words.

Having been in Japan for more than six years, Xiong Tingbi had a very deep understanding of the Japanese. The underlying tone of the Japanese was inferiority.

The Japanese were always looking for an "other" as an anchor to anchor everything about themselves. It was very much like Japan's geographical situation—an isolated island hanging overseas, needing the continent to define its outline and the boundaries of civilization.

This state of always being dependent on others caused the Japanese's inferiority.

They called the west of Kyoto Chang'an and the east of Kyoto Luoyang, and called the daimyo's entry into the capital "Shangluo." And all their culture, economy, technology, etc., all came from the import of the Central Plains. This secondary, derivative civilization created this inferiority in their bones.

Similarly, this inferiority also came from the anxiety of survival.

Japan did not have intensive farming, did not have enough farm tools. The samurai, who should have shouldered the responsibility of protection, were always plundering the poor and suffering. The anxiety of survival made the Japanese learn to accept their fate. The final result was self-abasement.

And the underlying tone of inferiority caused these Japanese to always be in a state of hesitation, confusion, and anxiety. They craved a more stable life. They attributed all tragedies to Japan's narrow land and few fields, frequent earthquakes, and constant storms, only believing them to be natural disasters, not human disasters.

Simply attributing misfortune to natural disasters, the Japanese were filled with unrealistic fantasies about the continent. "Entering Tang" was the consensus established under this inferiority.

Ordinary Japanese did not understand the changes of the Central Plains dynasties. They called the Central Plains "Great Tang," as if as long as they entered Tang, all their problems could be solved, as long as they entered Tang, everything would become better.

If one carefully analyzed the birth of the Bliss Sect and its widespread popularity in Japan, one would find that the essence of the Bliss Sect was "entering Tang."

The birth of the Bliss Sect was the "entering Tang" of the defeated dog route after the failure of military aggression.

Self-dwarfing, self-abasement, being a slave and a maid to reach the Bliss Pure Land, and going to the Ming Dynasty was the cultural foundation for the widespread popularity of the Bliss Sect.

And the inferiority in their bones, which caused them to accept their fate, made them dare not resist, and rarely resist, making it even harder to appear a consensus of loving the people. Order was established in struggle, and fairness came from the striving of resistance.

Without resistance, there is no fairness; without struggle, there is no order.

The "ikki" (uprising) of several daimyo with farmers and commoners was not the resistance of the poor and suffering, because at this time, the Japanese didn't even have surnames. The two words "common people" had nothing to do with most Japanese.

One could tell from their names. Their names were strange and varied, and their surnames were even more diverse. These names and surnames were just like the Japanese themselves, like wild grass, growing in spring and withering in summer. No one cared whether they were alive, and even less whether they had ever come.

This kind of inferiority caused a basic fact: Japan needed an "other" to interfere with their production, life, military, and politics. And only in this way could they feel more at ease.

To put it more bluntly, for the Japanese to live with peace of mind, there must be a living father above their heads to manage them.

As a Ming person, if Xiong Tingbi hadn't lived in Japan for a long time, he wouldn't have been able to understand the various things in Japan.

To understand everything in Japan and explain the problems in Japan, starting from the inferiority in the Japanese bones and the distortion of spirituality under this inferiority, one could understand it very simply.

"I ordered the samurai in the city to divide into three routes and attack Tokugawa Ieyasu. How is the preparation?" Xiong Tingbi put away his thoughts and asked about his order.

Yuan Zheng said loudly, "Everything is ready. Everyone is waiting with weapons, just waiting for your order! Let Japan be shrouded in your kindness and mercy!"

Xiong Tingbi didn't need to persuade Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi, didn't need to persuade these samurai; he just needed to give the order. His Majesty the Emperor thought the problem was a bit complicated.

To say it was crazy, the strategy of "entering Tang" formulated by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi—first entering Korea, then entering the Ming Dynasty—was even crazier.

But there were still 150,000 samurai who followed this crazy strategy and invaded Korea.

Xiong Tingbi's three-pronged attack was for the prosperity of the Kanto Plain and for the arrival of a new era in Japan. In this atmosphere, his plan was not crazy.

These samurai were the biggest unstable factor in the Edo River.

They wantonly humiliated the poor commoners in the city, and even at the very beginning, killed people at will, so that the people in the countryside dared not enter the city.

These samurai plundered whenever they left the city, and the commoners who had completed the equalization of land were plundered, which included revenge.

These samurai didn't even dare to complain about Xiong Tingbi, who presided over the return of land, but instead aimed their weapons at those commoners who had equalized land and changed surnames, thinking that these commoners had snatched their land, and they were extremely vicious.

These samurai were the result of violent loss of control. Japan had no way to restrain these samurai, because any daimyo needed to rely on samurai to carry out conquests.

"Mori Terumoto and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who do you think will win?" Xiong Tingbi asked a question.

Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi looked at each other. Yuan Zheng said, "Whoever wins or loses, in the end, they won't be the Governor's opponent! I think Mori Terumoto is slightly stronger. Whether it is the navy or the army, they are more powerful."

Yuan Zhi pondered for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I think it is Tokugawa Ieyasu, because Tokugawa Ieyasu is more dangerous. He is too good at enduring, and he is very vicious. He is like a poisonous snake hiding in the shadows. And he does things without any means. Bad people always laugh last."

Tokugawa Ieyasu's nickname was "Old Fox," which was already a compliment. The daimyo of Japan always believed that Oda Nobunaga died in Tokugawa Ieyasu's conspiracy, even though Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu had always been allies.

Tokugawa Ieyasu had another nickname: "Japan's Sima Yi."

Xiong Tingbi nodded and said, "I also think it is Tokugawa Ieyasu. I have dealt with Mori Terumoto at the Iwami Silver Mine. After he failed to take back the Iwami Silver Mine many times, he chose to negotiate peace with me. After negotiating peace, he asked for the remains of the fallen samurai."

Mori Terumoto asking for the remains of the fallen samurai was something Xiong Tingbi didn't expect. Having fought with Japan countless times, this was the first time a daimyo had asked for remains, proving that in Mori Terumoto's eyes, these samurai were people, not tools, which was already very rare.

In this chaotic situation in Japan, bad people indeed had a greater possibility of laughing last.

Mori Terumoto also had a biggest problem: he was actually not good at fighting, that is, his military talent was not strong, so he could only rely on those family heads. And the widespread "gekokujo" atmosphere in Japan made Mori Terumoto unable to fully trust these family heads.

This distrust was extremely fatal on the battlefield.

Whether Mori Terumoto won or Tokugawa Ieyasu won, it would be a matter of three to five years. The struggle between the two groups would not come to an end so quickly. After three to five years, whoever it was, they would not have the ability to threaten the Kanto Plain.

The Kanto Plain, which had completed partial land return, was now considered a daimyo with a million koku according to Japan's stipend conversion. His power had already entered the top tier.

Intensive farming, farm tools and seeds from the Ming Dynasty, all brought new vitality to this fertile land full of volcanic ash.

What Xiong Tingbi lacked was time. He only needed three to five years to convert the output of these fields into strong combat power. And because of internal strife, Japan could not launch a large-scale attack on the Kanto Plain within three to five years.

The strategy of three-pronged attack—conquest to the north, south, and west—had only one purpose: to eliminate the unstable factor of the samurai group and maintain rule.

When it was time to take action, Xiong Tingbi never softened his hand.

"Military Colony Guard Garrisons." Xiong Tingbi began to implement the second phase of orders: establishing military colony guard garrisons on the Kanto Plain. Equalizing land was to let the samurai enter the city, not to harm the farmers in the countryside.

And the military colony guard garrison was the best way to manage the Japanese.

The resilience and role of the military colony guard garrison system had long been confirmed by the Ming Dynasty with time.

It was just that implementing this decree in Japan still had many difficulties. First of all, it was difficult to establish Confucian academies in the guard garrisons. Japan lacked enough scholars. Of course, for the initially constructed military colony guard garrisons, there was no need for so many Confucian academies.

The initially established military colony guard garrisons were mainly for farming and self-sufficiency in food.

And this was also the reason why the samurai had to be eliminated. These samurai ate too much, and they also liked to drink very much.

Xiong Tingbi began to arrange for the implementation of the military colony guard garrison decree throughout the Kanto Plain. This policy was more complex. The preliminary conception was only similar to the camp farm of the camp field method, mainly to first connect roads and bridges, and then send elite soldiers from the Capital Camp to manage, reclaim wasteland, farm, and manage the output of the fields, etc.

These things were intricate. As Xiong Tingbi talked, Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi became a bit confused as they listened.

"Forget it. Just do as I say." Xiong Tingbi gave up explaining the principles and instead changed to another way: directive administration.

He wanted to explain those principles clearly, but Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi really couldn't understand.

For example, he talked about the storage and management of granaries, which involved the difference between civilian-transported tax grain and official-resolved tax grain.

Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi raised the question: wouldn't it be solved if the common people were directly asked to transport the grain they needed to pay to Edo Castle? If they couldn't pay on time, immediately sending samurai to suppress them was the correct way to do it.

For example, he talked about military construction based on military colony guard garrisons. Anti-corruption was a must. The army was the only realistic thing in the process of establishing order. The army suppressed chaos, the nation was stable, production began to recover, universal consensus was recognized, morality began to appear, and order based on morality gradually improved.

Once the army, this ballast, changed color, the entire order would be distorted. Similarly, if the army didn't change color, then no matter how chaotic the order was, it wouldn't deviate from the correct direction, and it wouldn't lose its way.

What a simple and easy-to-understand truth, but Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi expressed doubt: checking the army's accounts, was this crazy?

The truth couldn't be explained, so Xiong Tingbi stopped explaining. Directive administration became Xiong Tingbi's habit.

Xiong Tingbi gave up the idea of education. He understood a truth very, very early: don't try to change anyone's concept, because that is the sum of his past.

The problem in Japan was actually very simple. In all of Japan, everyone had themselves in their hearts, everyone had factions in their hearts, and few people had ambitions in their hearts. Only a very few people could barely be considered to have the poor and suffering and the common people in their hearts.

To put it more bluntly, the meat-eaters and ruling class of Japan were almost all beasts, worse than pigs and dogs.

For example, Oda Nobunaga, three public and seven people. Oda Nobunaga only collected 30% of the land tax. In Japan, where 80% or 90% was common, Oda Nobunaga's 30% was having the people and the world in his heart.

"We withdraw." Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi followed the order. Sometimes they didn't understand why Xiong Tingbi told them so much. Just tell them what to do.

They had self-knowledge. Not to mention they couldn't understand, even if they could really understand, they would think too much, and instead distort Xiong Tingbi's decrees, which was not as good as the current directive policy.

"Wait a moment." Xiong Tingbi turned around, looked at the two, and said, "Don't call me 'Your Excellency' in the future. Just call me 'Governor'."

The "Your Excellency" in their mouths was a respectful term for people, but it was more like a title for a keep, a monarch. Xiong Tingbi was a Ming person. He was in Japan mainly for training. His official title was Governor of Edo, not "Your Excellency of the Keep."

"Yes." Yuan Zheng and Yuan Zhi bowed their heads again and received the order. This was the contradictory part of Xiong Tingbi. As a military general, he was always calculating about ritual and law. Every time they knelt, Xiong Tingbi would move aside and tell them that they were kneeling to His Majesty, not to him, Xiong Tingbi.

A person walked out of the shadows, Chen Tiande, the person in charge of the Japanese intelligence system. He handed the letter sent by the Coastal Defense Inspector to Xiong Tingbi.

Xiong Tingbi finished reading the letter and showed a gentle smile. His Majesty didn't care much about Japanese affairs. His Majesty cared about Japanese silver and Japanese slaves, but didn't care whether Japan lived or died. This indifference made Japan even more unfortunate.

In the letter, His Majesty mainly rambled about things that happened in the capital, how his severe illness had tossed the Ming Dynasty inside and out, how even Shen Shixing had almost become a traitorous official plotting against the imperial carriage, and asked about Xiong Tingbi's recent situation, repeatedly telling him that if he couldn't maintain it, he could just return to the Ming Dynasty.

Xiong Tingbi was too lazy to be a "Prince of the Blood" in Japan. Only then would he truly be self-abasing, self-dwarfing, and becoming a barbarian.

If he were to be one, he would be a Five-Star Emperor!

Chen Tiande never doubted that Xiong Tingbi would betray the Ming Dynasty. He was "Xiong Da" in His Majesty's mouth. 【111】 "News came from Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu told all the daimyo that Torii Mototada's behavior was his own claim. Tokugawa Ieyasu had never issued an order to kill Toyotomi Hideyoshi. But Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Torii Mototada a thick burial and let Torii Mototada's son inherit the daimyo position, increasing the stipend by 50,000 koku." Chen Tiande told Xiong Tingbi a relatively contradictory piece of intelligence. 【112】 Tokugawa Ieyasu denied killing Toyotomi Hideyoshi on one hand, and treated the descendants of the murderer Torii Mototada very favorably on the other. Didn't this tell everyone that it was him who did it? 【113】 "Tokugawa Ieyasu is not a fool. He wants to unite the daimyo loyal to him. After the result of the struggle with Mori Terumoto is decided, it will be another scene." Xiong Tingbi understood why Tokugawa Ieyasu did this. 【114】 The fire fight between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his direct line, heir, and adopted son Toyotomi Hidetsugu gave Tokugawa Ieyasu an opportunity. Tokugawa Ieyasu grasped the timing very keenly and acted immediately. 【115】 If Tokugawa Ieyasu humiliated Torii Mototada's descendants, he would have internal strife with his subordinates first, and Mori Terumoto would win without fighting. 【116】 "I intend to raid Kyoto." Xiong Tingbi stood in front of the huge Japanese map in the keep and pointed to the location of the Ming Dynasty's Osaka Bay Tianjin Tianjin Weisuo Company. He carefully judged that Tokugawa Ieyasu and Mori Terumoto would definitely have a battle, Mori Terumoto would definitely lose, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would win a great victory. 【117】 Then, joining forces to raid Kyoto was Xiong Tingbi's fatal blow to Tokugawa Ieyasu. 【118】 Tokugawa Ieyasu could win, but he absolutely couldn't win so easily. The Ming Dynasty didn't want to see a united Japanese Shogunate. 【119】 A Japanese Shogunate full of differences, assassinations, struggles, and hatred was what the Ming Dynasty wanted to see. Only in this way could they maximize the squeezing of Japanese silver into the Ming Dynasty and Japanese slaves going to the South Seas to do labor, which was in line with the Ming Dynasty's general direction of destroying Japan. 【120】 "Wouldn't it be too risky?" Chen Tiande said with a heavy face, "If the raid is successful, naturally it can severely damage Tokugawa Ieyasu. These daimyo see Tokugawa Ieyasu weakening, and their ambitions will naturally grow wildly. However, Governor Xiong should not go personally. I will take 1,500 elite soldiers to Osaka." 【121】 "Of course I have to go!" Xiong Tingbi looked at Chen Tiande and shook his head, saying, "His Majesty sent me to Japan, isn't it to fully control the situation in Japan?" 【122】 "No. His Majesty sent Governor Xiong here to train, not to control the situation in Japan." Chen Tiande shook his head, denying Xiong Tingbi's words. 【123】 The Emperor had never given Xiong Tingbi any specific tasks. Everyone knew how thick the imperial favor on Xiong Tingbi was. 【124】 "You are right." Xiong Tingbi choked. Chen Tiande was right. His Majesty didn't give him any specific tasks. He could indeed run if he could. 【125】 "I still have to go." Xiong Tingbi made a decision after solemn consideration. He said solemnly, "Deeply favored by the Emperor, I have nothing to repay." 【126】 "Yes." Chen Tiande received the order. Xiong Tingbi was the Governor. He made the decision, and Chen Tiande could only listen and act. Moreover, Chen Tiande knew Xiong Tingbi's military talent very well. The Japanese pirates couldn't keep him. This trip was a bit dangerous, but not much. 【127】 Chen Tiande would stay behind to guard Edo Castle to prevent Edo from changing. 【128】 They had to wait for the two factions to start the fire fight before the Ming Dynasty had this battle opportunity. 【129】 "The list of goods imported from Shandong this time." Chen Tiande began to discuss internal affairs with Xiong Tingbi. 【130】 The global trade fleet departing from Songjiang Prefecture stopped at Edo Port. This was the first time stopping at Edo Port. Edo was waiting in full battle array. This involved the key to whether Edo Castle could join the Pan-Pacific Commercial Alliance. 【131】 This stop was very smooth. After the fleet was replenished, it sailed toward the Kingdom of Jinshan. At the end of the tenth month, a batch of merchant ships departing from the Mizhou Shipping Department in Shandong successfully arrived at Edo Castle. 【132】 And the list of goods in Chen Tiande's hand was what Edo Castle urgently needed. 【133】 "So many? Can't afford it." Xiong Tingbi looked at the dazzling list of goods and said somewhat dumbly. 【134】 "Can owe it first." Chen Tiande said with great emotion, "Shandong Governor Song Yingchang said that His Majesty has an imperial decree saying that what Governor Xiong owes can be asked from His Majesty." 【135】 The direct embodiment of imperial favor. Xiong Tingbi's development in the Edo River had received His Majesty's guarantee. If Xiong Tingbi couldn't pay back what he owed, he would ask His Majesty for it. 【136】 "Thank you for His Majesty's vast imperial grace." Xiong Tingbi once again sincerely bowed to the capital from afar. Others didn't know why he had such imperial favor, and he himself didn't know very well either. 【137】 From the first time he saw His Majesty, His Majesty called him "Xiong Da," let him worship at Zhang Juzheng's door, made him a closed-door disciple, and gave him ten silver of ointment money every year to study and practice martial arts. At the Lecture University, he worshipped Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang as teachers and learned military strategy and martial arts. 【138】 He didn't rely on His Majesty's favoritism to be fearless, but acted more cautiously to repay the vast imperial grace. 【139】 "This list of goods is so rich, which shows that Shandong's development in recent years has been extremely rapid. This is really very surprising." Xiong Tingbi saw something else from the list of goods. Shandong's goods were not only rich in variety but also of superior quality, which represented that Shandong's workshops were also expanding. 【140】 Cotton cloth was a specialty of Songjiang Prefecture, but Shandong's cotton cloth, whether in quality or price, was not inferior. 【141】 In recent years, Shandong had formed two powerful economic cores: Jinan Prefecture and the Mizhou Shipping Department. Under the leadership of these two cores, Shandong had become the number one economic powerhouse in the north. 【142】 Xiong Tingbi was actually a bit surprised. The Wanli Reform was vigorous, but Shandong, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, was actually very conservative and the most conservative place in the Ming Dynasty. But Shandong still grasped the general trend of the Wanli Reform and was developing vigorously in the reform. 【143】 "Perhaps sometimes, conservatism is also a kind of progress." Chen Tiande pondered for a while and said so. 【144】 Conservatism didn't mean it couldn't develop. Compared with Songjiang Prefecture, which was soaked in a sea of silver, Shandong's development speed was not inferior at all, and it didn't even have the risk of being alienated by money. ===== CHAPTER 1069 =====

Chen Tiande never doubted that Xiong Tingbi would betray the Great Ming; after all, he was the "Xiong Da" in the Emperor's own words.

"News has come from Kyoto that Tokugawa Ieyasu has informed all the daimyō that Torii Mototada's actions were his own unauthorized decision, and that Tokugawa Ieyasu had never issued an order to kill Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Torii Mototada a lavish funeral and allowed Torii Mototada's son to inherit his daimyō position, increasing his stipend by 50,000 koku." Chen Tiande told Xiong Tingbi a piece of rather contradictory intelligence.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was denying that he had killed Toyotomi Hideyoshi on one hand, while treating the descendants of the murderer, Torii Mototada, with great favor on the other. Wasn't this the same as telling everyone that he was the one who did it?

"Tokugawa Ieyasu is no fool. He needs to unite the daimyō loyal to him. Once he has settled the score with Mōri Terumoto, it will be a different scene." Xiong Tingbi understood why Tokugawa Ieyasu was acting this way.

The infighting between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his own direct line, successor, and adopted son Toyotomi Hidetsugu had given Tokugawa Ieyasu an opportunity to exploit. Tokugawa Ieyasu had a very keen grasp of timing and acted immediately.

If Tokugawa Ieyasu had humiliated the descendants of Torii Mototada, he would have had internal strife among his own subordinates first, and Mōri Terumoto would have won without a fight.

"I intend to launch a surprise attack on Kyoto." Xiong Tingbi stood before a massive map of Japan in the castle tower and pointed to the location of the Great Ming's thousand-man garrison in Osaka Bay. He carefully judged that Tokugawa Ieyasu and Mōri Terumoto were bound to have a battle; Mōri Terumoto would undoubtedly lose, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would win a complete victory.

Then, combining their forces to launch a surprise attack on Kyoto would be the fatal blow Xiong Tingbi would deal to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Tokugawa Ieyasu could win, but he absolutely must not win so easily. The Great Ming did not want to see a united Japanese shogunate.

A Japanese shogunate filled with divisions, assassinations, struggles, and grudges was what the Great Ming wanted to see. Only then could they maximize the extraction of Japanese silver into the Ming and force Japanese slaves to perform hard labor on plantations in the South Seas; this was what conformed to the Great Ming's overall direction of annihilating Japan.

"Wouldn't that be too risky?" Chen Tiande said with a grave expression, "If the surprise attack succeeds, we can naturally deal a heavy blow to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and these daimyō will naturally see Tokugawa Ieyasu's weakness and let their ambitions grow wild. However, Governor Xiong should not go personally. I will lead 1,500 elite soldiers to Osaka."

"Of course I have to go!" Xiong Tingbi looked at Chen Tiande and shook his head, saying, "Didn't His Majesty send me to Japan to completely control the situation in Japan?"

"No, His Majesty sent Governor Xiong here to gain experience, not to control the situation in Japan." Chen Tiande shook his head, denying Xiong Tingbi's words.

The Emperor had never given Xiong Tingbi any specific tasks; everyone knew how thick the imperial favor Xiong Tingbi enjoyed was.

"You are right." Xiong Tingbi choked for a moment. Chen Tiande was right; the letters the Emperor gave him also told him to run if he could. He really didn't have to go.

"I still have to go." After solemn consideration, Xiong Tingbi made his decision. He said solemnly, "Having received such great imperial favor, I have no way to repay it."

"Yes." Chen Tiande accepted the order. Xiong Tingbi was the Governor, and he had made the decision; Chen Tiande could only obey and carry it out. Moreover, Chen Tiande was very clear about Xiong Tingbi's military talent; the Japanese pirates couldn't keep him, and while this trip was somewhat dangerous, it wasn't too much so.

Chen Tiande would remain behind to guard Edo Castle to prevent any changes in Edo.

They had to wait for the two factions to start fighting before the Great Ming would have this opportunity for battle.

"The manifest of goods imported from Shandong this time." Chen Tiande began to discuss domestic affairs with Xiong Tingbi.

The global trade fleet departing from Songjiang Prefecture had stopped at Edo Port. This was the first time they had stopped at Edo Port, and everyone in Edo was on high alert; this involved the key to whether Edo Castle could join the Pan-Pacific Trade Alliance.

This stop was very smooth. After the fleet was resupplied, it sailed toward the Kingdom of Jinshan. At the end of October, a batch of merchant ships departing from the Shandong Mizhou Maritime Trade Office successfully arrived at Edo Castle.

And the manifest of goods in Chen Tiande's hand was exactly what Edo Castle urgently needed.

"So many? We can't afford this." Xiong Tingbi looked at the dazzling list of goods and said somewhat dumbly.

"We can owe it for now." Chen Tiande said with great emotion, "Shandong Governor Song Yingchang said that His Majesty has an imperial decree stating that whatever Governor Xiong owes, he can ask His Majesty for it."

A direct manifestation of imperial favor: Xiong Tingbi's development in Edogawa had received the Emperor's guarantee. If Xiong Tingbi couldn't pay back what he owed, he should just ask His Majesty for it.

"I thank His Majesty for his vast imperial grace." Xiong Tingbi once again sincerely bowed toward the capital from afar. Others didn't understand why he enjoyed such imperial favor, and in truth, he didn't really understand it himself.

From the first time he met His Majesty, His Majesty had called him "Xiong Da" and had him apprentice under Zhang Juzheng as a closed-door disciple, and even gave him ten silver taels of study money every year to support his reading and martial arts training. At the Jiangwu University, he had apprenticed under Qi Jiguang and Ma Fang to study military strategy and martial arts.

He did not rely on the Emperor's favoritism to act without fear; instead, he acted with even greater caution to repay the vast imperial grace.

"This manifest is so rich; it shows that Shandong's development over these years has been extremely rapid. This is truly very surprising." From the manifest, Xiong Tingbi saw something else. Shandong's goods were not only rich in variety but also of superior quality, which meant that Shandong's workshops were also expanding.

Cotton cloth was a specialty of Songjiang Prefecture, but Shandong's cotton cloth was not inferior in either quality or price.

Over these years, Shandong had formed two powerful economic cores: Jinan Prefecture and the Mizhou Maritime Trade Office. Led by these two cores, Shandong had become the number one economic powerhouse in the north.

Xiong Tingbi was actually somewhat surprised. The Wanli Reform was vigorous and dynamic, and Shandong, the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, was actually very conservative—the most conservative place in the Great Ming. Yet, Shandong had still grasped the general trend of the Wanli Reform and was developing vigorously amidst the reform.

"Perhaps sometimes, being conservative is also a kind of progress." Chen Tiande pondered for a moment and said this.

Being conservative did not mean one could not develop. Compared to Songjiang Prefecture, which was soaked in a sea of silver, Shandong's speed of development was not inferior at all, and it even lacked the risk of being alienated by money.