Chapter 225: The Long Strategy of Destroying the Nest and Sweeping the Japanese Pirates

"If we fight now, Great Ming will definitely lose. Even if we win, we will still lose." Wu Baipeng answered Tan Lun's question.

Tan Lun asked how many chances of winning Great Ming had if it conflicted with Altan Khan, and Wu Baipeng's answer was that it was difficult for Great Ming to win, and even if it won, it would still lose. Great Ming loses, the Northern Barbarians lose, this is a lose-lose situation.

The conflict of the previous twenty-five years also proved this point, so after the fierce conflict, there was the Longqing Peace Talks and Altan's tribute.

Wu Baipeng and Tan Lun communicated in detail about the problems.

Based on past experience, Wu Baipeng pointed out that the Northern Barbarians are strong because they know how to run away, so they are endless; they are strong because they don't know where they are; they are strong because they drill into the grassland and desert, relying on the time and place, and they can't be found or killed, just like wild grass, which grows again with the spring breeze.

This situation occurs because of the gap in mobility. As strong as Emperor Wen, Ming Chengzu, he went on five northern expeditions, and the last three had few results, because the Northern Barbarians discovered that as long as they didn't have direct contact with the Great Ming army, they could run far away, and Great Ming couldn't do anything about them. And Altan Khan and Tuman Khan didn't sell war horses and breeding horses when trading with Great Ming, just to maintain this leading strategic mobility.

Fighting outside the pass, Great Ming gains too little and pays too much. As long as the war starts, it is a definite loss.

"There is a style of precise calculation in the court." Wu Baipeng expressed his second reason. He said with great regret, "Under the style of precise calculation, the imperial court has successively lost Jiaozhi, Danning Guard, Nuergan Regional Military Commission, and Hetao. Fortunately, the capital is in the North Yamen. If it were in the South Yamen, I am afraid that even the land under our feet would have been precisely calculated away."

Wu Baipeng is not joking. Since the relocation of the capital in the 19th year of Yongle, the public opinion of moving the capital to the South has never stopped. In the 14th year of Zhengton, after the disaster of Tumu Fortress, the faction headed by Xu Youzhen advocated moving back to the South Yamen to avoid the edge of the Oirat.

Wu Baipeng stated very clearly, "This widespread trend of actuarial calculation actually has some logic to it. Putting aside the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, which is a loose-rein territory, just taking the Ordos Loop as an example, if the imperial court does not invest a large amount of manpower and material resources, the Ordos Loop is nothing more than a pasture. Similarly, the land gained by the Great Ming's northern expeditions is also nothing more than loose-rein territory; its produce cannot enter the heartland, and the Great Ming's military power cannot be deployed into the grasslands, so it certainly cannot be sustained."

"So, there must be a road."

What is it for to take it back? They are all negative-income areas. Taking them back is also eating the imperial court's finance. The imperial court is poor, where is the silver, where is the grain to support the newly occupied territory outside the pass? The land fought down is all places that need poverty alleviation, so it naturally cannot get widespread support.

Danning Guard has a Taotu Mountain. The white soil of Taotu Mountain can effectively wash wool, remove grease, remove odor, and make it more shiny and white, easy to dye. Only then can Danning Guard be widely recognized.

But then continue to fight, need reasons, need benefits. It doesn't rain three feet a year, how to farm, how to maintain long-term occupation? Rely on the hinterland to support. Does the hinterland really have no opinion? Even if everyone in the hinterland can blood-transfuse for the country's grand plan, the problem is that the hinterland is now full of contradictions and has no spare power to support.

Building roads requires conscripting labor, and labor requires food. The historical lessons of the Hu Yuan's barbaric management of the Yellow River are vivid.

Developing a place that is likely to lose money is still too difficult for Great Ming, which does not have a complete fiscal and tax system and is full of tax-avoiding gentry.

"I heard that recently, some people are clamoring about the wind, wanting to abolish the tax-collecting halls of the Songjiang, Fujian, and Guangzhou Shipping Departments." Wu Baipeng felt a headache when he mentioned this. The tax-collecting halls were 100% taxed at 6%, and they were opposed, and the voice of opposition was very loud. For the imperial court's behavior of operating silk and collecting taxes, countless mouthpieces were clamoring about these winds.

Tan Lun shook his head and said, "No need to pay attention, just clamor."

Because of Guang Mao's memorial, the imperial court is now preparing to go to Ryukyu to help the King of Ryukyu pacify the Japanese pirates. This pacification of the Japanese pirates is to allow Great Ming's silver inflow to have fewer middlemen to earn the price difference. Under such circumstances, abolishing the tax-collecting halls, what to use to raise the navy? Without a navy, what to use to protect the smooth flow of the sea route? Without a navy, what to use to protect the safety of Great Ming's sea territory?

Therefore, Tan Lun's evaluation is clamor.

In fact, it is not just the tax-collecting halls. The opposition to land survey, land return, land reclamation

"Back to the matter of using troops in the grasslands," Wu Baipeng said, his brows tightly furrowed. "Actually, what I worry about most is the mixed residence of Hu and Han in the northwest, which leads to many spies and agents in the northwest."

Wu Baipeng was a governor in Xuan-Da, so he naturally knew the local situation. Were Zhang Siwei and his accomplices the only ones secretly smuggling and trading with the Altan Khan? Not necessarily.

The Jin merchants were not just Zhang Siwei; there were also Wang Chonggu, Yang Bo, and many, many other Jin merchants smuggling and trading with the Hu barbarians in the northwest. The emergence of Zhang Siwei was by no means accidental.

The reason was the same as past failures: the result of the Great Ming taking military action against the Altan Khan was that the Altan Khan seemed to have opened his third eye; he knew every move of the Great Ming soldiers. The fundamental reason for this situation was the social background of the mixed residence of Hu and Han.

This is also the main reason why Wu Baipeng advocated for reconciliation with the peace faction led by San Niangzi; only by expanding official trade could smuggling trade be significantly reduced, making it easier to strike against it.

Tan Lun and Wu Baipeng talked for a long time before ending this meeting.

Wu Baipeng went to see Zhang Juzheng again, and finally, he was summoned by the Emperor to the Wenhua Hall for a report. Only after receiving the imperial decree did Wu Baipeng plan to return to Xuanfu.

Zhu Yijun agreed with Wu Baipeng's proposal, but still refused the Altan Khan's request for a golden seal, and rejected various proposals such as letting San Niangzi enter the capital to pay tribute and expanding border trade.

On the thirteenth day of the fourth month of the fifth year of Wanli, the Great Ming's court session began. Tan Lun, who had been absent from the court session for ten days, finally returned to the Wenhua Hall. His complexion was much better. After the officials offered their salutations, they took their seats, preparing for the court session.

"Has the Grand Marshal's illness recovered?" Wan Shihe expressed concern for Tan Lun's health.

Tan Lun said with some helplessness, "I wasn't ill."

"You weren't ill, yet you rested for ten days?" Wan Shihe immediately replied.

"Fine, I was ill, and I've recovered," Tan Lun gave up on arguing.

The entire capital officialdom believed that Tan Lun was ill, and very seriously ill at that. Many court officials had gone to Tan Lun's residence to inquire about his illness. Since everyone said he was ill, he would just admit it.

Why rest for ten days if not ill?

"Grand Marshal, you must be careful to take good care of your body," Zhu Yijun expressed his concern to Tan Lun.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern and pity," Tan Lun hurriedly bowed his head to thank him for the grace. The Great Ming Son of Heaven was often cold and ungrateful; the scene of the little Emperor, disheveled and wearing the wrong shoes, going to the Jiekuyuan Institute, truly filled Tan Lun with mixed feelings. Although His Majesty was violent and loved to kill, he still cherished his ministers.

"San Niangzi will enter the court the day after tomorrow. Chen Xuehui, the Minister of the Court of Ceremonial Guests, will continue to handle the matters," Zhang Juzheng took out the first memorial, looked at Ma Ziqiang, and assigned the task. The approval for San Niangzi to enter the court had been sent to the northwest. San Niangzi moved very quickly; she should arrive the day after tomorrow.

"San Niangzi brought some beauties; send them all to the Imperial Uncle," Zhu Yijun added as a supplementary instruction.

When San Niangzi entered the court, she specifically brought the "Hailar" of the grasslands—that is, the Pearls of the Grasslands—totaling thirteen people. The purpose of bringing these Hailar was naturally to participate in the grand event of the Emperor's wedding selection. When the suzerain state has a grand wedding, if the vassal state doesn't show some gesture, is it still a vassal state?

The Great Ming Emperor would not accept them, but San Niangzi had to bring them; this way, there was a proper reason for entering the capital.

"Your minister obeys the decree," Ma Ziqiang bowed his head to accept the order.

Who said His Majesty was harsh to the imperial clan and lacked familial affection? Zhu Zaiyu, the heir to the Prince of Zheng, was the first to disagree. At present, Zhu Zaiyu was still not the Prince of De. It wasn't that the original Prince of De's mansion refused to give up the title "De"; it was that Zhu Zaiyu's own father was still alive. Only after Zhu Zaiyu's father passed away would he be enfeoffed as a Prince.

Therefore, Zhu Zaiyu's mansion was the Prince of De's mansion, but Zhu Zaiyu did not have the title of Prince of De.

Just like how the title of the Prince of Mu's mansion was actually the Duke of Qian, but everyone was used to calling it the Prince of Mu's mansion; it had the reality without the name, and all rituals were treated as those of a Prince of the Blood.

"In the ten-plus days that the Grand Marshal was away, all matters in the Ministry of War were normal, especially the procurement of military provisions and equipment to meet the needs of the Great Ming. The Ministry of Revenue plans to conscript 70,000 displaced tenant farmers as laborers before August to accompany the army to the Daning Guard to transport provisions, equipment, dig trenches, build bridges, and other engineering tasks," Zhang Juzheng briefed Tan Lun on the court's actions during his ten-plus days of absence.

This was a national policy decided long ago: appease the northwest, attack the northeast, and still drive the Tuman Khan completely out of Liaodong to prevent the possibility of a military alliance between the Tuman Khan and the Jianzhou Jurchens.

This Great Ming war machine began to turn again. The preparation of military provisions and equipment had been going on for four months, and it would continue until the crisp autumn of September. In September, the Great Ming Capital Battalion would again head to the Daning Guard, still using the old rogue tactic: wait for the snow.

War would not start suddenly; there would definitely be signs.

The Great Ming still had to attack the Tuman Khan. First, it refused the Tuman Khan's request for another border market. The last wool border market was a great success, and the Tuman Khan wanted to strike while the iron was hot and continue the border market with the Great Ming, but he was refused. This was an economic blockade and also an expression of no longer showing goodwill toward the target.

The Great Ming letting San Niangzi enter the capital was not only to appease the Altan Khan's dissatisfaction at not receiving the golden seal, but also to communicate with San Niangzi and stabilize the northwest.

No longer showing goodwill toward the target and diplomatic coordination to prevent fighting on two fronts—this was at the political level.

At the military level, preparations for military provisions and equipment, conscripting laborers to transport provisions to the Daning Guard, the scouts and signal tower guards of the Capital Battalion rushing to the front line to investigate enemy intelligence, ordering Miyun, Yongping, and Shanhai Pass to be careful in defense, the Capital Battalion and the Three Garrisons beginning to coordinate, and Li Chengliang preparing to head to Zhangwu.

At the social level, the supervising censors of the Great Ming's Censorate began to leave the capital to issue proclamations, such as not being allowed to go to the Daning Guard recently, repairing city walls, and inspecting military equipment, to prevent the shock to the capital region caused by a possible front-line defeat and rout of the Great Ming army. These were public actions. Non-public actions included counting the adult males, preparing to recruit guest soldiers, transporting provisions, investigating and arresting spies, etc.

The fact that the Great Ming was going to use force could not be hidden at all. Therefore, the Regional Commander of Daning, Wang Rulong, had completely entered a wartime state to prevent the Tuman Khan from jumping over the wall in desperation. This was also the reason why Li Chengliang headed to Zhangwu.

All these preparations were carried out under the leadership of Zhang Juzheng. When Zhang Juzheng was in the court, if the Emperor Zhu Yijun said there should be light, then after the court session approved it, there was light. If he, the Emperor, said he wanted to attack the Quanning Guard and drive the Tuman Khan completely out of Liaodong, after the court session approved it, this Great Ming war machine began to turn.

Zhu Yijun remembered the battle when Li Chengliang wanted to go out of Fushun Pass to pacify Gule Village and capture the rebel chieftain Wang Gao alive. That was the Great Ming's first war outside the border in many years, and Zhang Juzheng had prepared Qi Jiguang's Capital Battalion and two reserve units from the Three Garrisons, including Chen Dacheng, gathered at Shanhai Pass as reinforcements to prevent any changes.

Zhang Juzheng's handling of military affairs was always so well-prepared and reassuring.

Before Zhang Juzheng died, Li Chengliang was always a loyal and good minister of the Great Ming, but afterwards, Li Chengliang began to become too powerful to control, relaxing defenses and indulging the enemy to ensure his own status. This was certainly because Li Chengliang was not a loyal minister, but it also had a lot to do with the shift in the wind in the court.

Zhang Juzheng was making arrangements in an orderly manner. Zhu Yijun didn't say a word, continuously writing notes diligently. If there was anything he didn't understand, he would mark it down and ask in detail at the lecture session after the court session. Zhu Yijun was copying homework, learning how to handle state affairs.

"As for the matter of the eastern expedition to the Japanese nation," Zhang Juzheng said with his brows tightly furrowed, "Your Majesty, allow your minister to think slowly and set a strategy."

"Does the Master not agree with attacking the Japanese nation?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Last time, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Guang Mao, specifically submitted a memorial opposing the Single Whip Law, citing the reason that the Great Ming was poor in silver and the silver route was not under the Great Ming's control; relying on the Great Ming's non-abundant resources to carry out the new policy would inevitably lead to loopholes.

Later, in the process of questioning and answering, Guang Mao reached the conclusion of attacking the Japanese nation. At that time, based on the position that the Great Ming must control the silver route itself, Zhang Juzheng agreed with Guang Mao's statement.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, attacking the Japanese nation will probably take decades; it is difficult to achieve in the short term."

The public opinion of the Great Ming had a terrible trend of utilitarian calculation, and also a trend of utilitarianism. If results could not be seen in the short term, it would be widely opposed, and then the policy would be shelved and no longer mentioned. Based on this utilitarian trend, some long-term strategies were difficult to implement.

Talking about a thousand-year cause—after a thousand years, you, me, and him would all be gone, so why talk about the future?

But the matter of attacking the Japanese nation really could not be rushed. The consequence of being eager for quick success was that it could not be achieved.

Zhu Yuanzhang set the ancestral law of fifteen non-conquerable countries during the Hongwu years. The Great Ming not conquering the Japanese nation to solve the Japanese pirate problem once and for all seemed to be limited by the ancestral law, but this ancestral law was broken as early as the beginning of the Yongle years.

The Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, pacified Annam, established the thirteen offices of Jiaozhi, and turned Jiaozhi into counties. Annam was also one of the fifteen non-conquerable countries. Didn't the Ming Chengzu Wen Emperor still attack it?

In fact, as early as the Jiajing years, when the Japanese pirate problem arose, court officials had proposed various methods, wanting to attack the Japanese nation's homeland once and for all.

The core strength of the Japanese pirates was the Japanese pirates, although their wings were the desperate outlaws of the Great Ming, and the people who hired them were the powerful and wealthy families in the Jiangnan region.

The Guangdong Maritime Vice Commissioner Wang Bai and Regional Military Commissioner Huang Qing once submitted a memorial to hire the Franks to attack and destroy the Japanese nation. In the 39th year of Jiajing, the Jiajing Emperor approved their memorial, but there was no follow-up. Why would the Franks risk their lives for the Great Ming? Fishing in troubled waters to gain benefits was what served their interests.

These two guys accepted bribes and ceded territory, and were finally expelled by Yin Zhengmao, who had freed up his hands. The two men's corruption was impeached by Yin Zhengmao, and they were finally beheaded for the crime of losing territory.

In the 19th year of Wanli, it was a year of turbulent clouds. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who boasted of being the first person under heaven, wrote a letter to the Korean King Li Yan, demanding that the Korean King break away from the Great Ming's vassal status and pay tribute to the Japanese nation, following the Japanese nation's lead. The Korean King refused, triggering the first Japanese invasion of Korea.

Also in this year, the Great Ming began to collect a lot of intelligence about the Japanese nation. For example, in the fourth month of the 19th year of Wanli, the Fujian sea merchant Chen Shen reported: The Japanese slaves are building ships and selecting soldiers, intending to invade the country. In the seventh month, the Zhejiang Governor Chang Jujing and Fujian Governor Zhao Canlu again reported on the Japanese pirate problem in the southeast, and the Great Ming began to quickly prepare against the Japanese.

The Wanli Emperor had already begun to slack off at that time, but regarding the preparation against the Japanese, the Wanli Emperor still issued imperial decrees many times, urging them strictly, and ordered the ministers and the people to submit memorials on strategies to prepare against the Japanese. The Liangguang Viceroy Liu Jiwen submitted a memorial saying: "Still inform the Guangdong barbarians and Japanese thieves of the circumstances of the Japanese slaves' invasion, and order them to capture and behead the Kampaku and offer them as tribute, and reward them heavily; this is a strategy to eliminate the disaster and pacify the country."

"Kampaku" means reporting, which is the Japanese nation's prime minister. This term comes from the "Han Shu: Biography of Huo Guang," which says that all major events in the world were first told to Huo Guang, and then to the Emperor, equivalent to the Great Ming's Grand Secretary and the one in charge of the country.

And "the first person under heaven" refers to the first person under heaven. Oda Nobunaga was the first, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the second.

The Liangguang Viceroy Liu Jiwen meant: Whoever can kill Toyotomi Hideyoshi and offer him to the imperial court will be heavily rewarded. The Wanli Emperor approved this proposal, and then all places began to report that they had killed Toyotomi Hideyoshi, making the imperial court overwhelmed. Even Shaanxi reported that a divine person dreamed of beheading Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

"In the year Qiu Junqing died, hearing that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was about to invade, he was still filled with indignation, and left a letter to the Zhejiang Governor, asking to follow the story of the Han dynasty's Heng-Hai building ships, to show the Great Ming's might, and the observer wrote about it." This Qiu Junqing was a gentry member. Hearing about the Japanese pirate problem, he left a will to the Zhejiang Governor, saying that he must build building ships capable of crossing the ocean to show the national might.

At that time, there was also a farce of ordering Siam, Ryukyu, and other countries to join forces to raid and attack the Japanese nation, and jointly conquer the Japanese nation in an eastern expedition.

In this farce, there was also a reckless man named Cheng Peng, who first deceived the Zhejiang Governor, then deceived the Tan Sima, and finally deceived the Wanli Emperor. This Cheng Peng fooled the Tan Sima Shi Xing, saying that he was very familiar with Siam and could go as an envoy. After cheating the Wanli Emperor out of more than 100,000 taels of silver, he went out to sea. After going out to sea, there was no more news.

After the first aid to Korea, the Great Ming began to prepare to destroy the Japanese nation, and formulated a very detailed plan and timetable. For example, it issued a decree to Korea, asking Korea to prepare to fight with the Great Ming. Korea refused the imperial court's order on the grounds that its people were not accustomed to overseas matters.

Siam was too far away, and Ryukyu had already been completely invaded by the Japanese nation at that time. In the end, the act of destroying the Japanese nation could not be achieved under the utilitarian trend.

The Wanli Emperor very much wanted to destroy the Japanese nation. He was a king who slacked off and didn't care about anything, but he was always personally involved in the matter of destroying the Japanese nation. However, the Great Ming's national strength had already begun to weaken at that time, and it simply didn't have the ability to do it.

"Decades, then decades it is. I will eat well and drink well, and try to live until that time," Zhu Yijun made a joke that wasn't very funny, and continued, "Does the Master have any brilliant strategies? Tell me in detail."

Zhang Juzheng stood up, came to the official position screen, and said, "Your minister believes that the matter of destroying the Japanese nation cannot be rushed. There are several reasons why it cannot be rushed: First, the Great Ming navy has not traveled across the ocean for more than 150 years, and the current naval combat power is still insufficient; second, our Great Ming troops are exhausted from the long journey to the Japanese nation, while the Japanese pirates are waiting at ease; third, the Japanese nation has nine million people and more than 200,000 soldiers and armor. How many strong troops are needed to destroy the Japanese nation? We still need to strengthen our military."

"This is why it cannot be rushed."

"If we want to destroy the Japanese nation, your minister has a long-term strategy, and I ask for Your Majesty's holy decision."

"Master, please speak." Zhu Yijun highly agreed with Zhang Juzheng's statement that destroying the Japanese nation could not be rushed. During the Jiajing years, there was the Japanese pirate problem, and during the Wanli years, there were two wars in Korea, all fighting the Japanese pirates. If they were easy to fight, the Wanli Emperor, who loved to achieve great things in history, would have done it.

"Your minister has the 'Long-Term Strategy for Destroying the Japanese Nation by Raiding Nests and Sweeping Caves'." Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial.

After Zhu Yijun finished reading it, he asked Zhang Hong to copy it and put it in the fourth display cabinet of the Wenhua Hall's side hall, the military studies section. If future generations don't know how, they can just copy it.

Zhang Juzheng's long-term strategy for destroying the Japanese nation was also a bit vicious in the eyes of Zhu Yijun, an emperor who was rotten to the core and a bird of a feather with Wang Qian.

"The Great Ming does not know the island situation of the Japanese nation, and knows nothing about the hydrology and geography. How can we destroy the Japanese nation?" Zhang Juzheng said with his hands folded, "The Japanese nation has many people from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, who can be used to respond, maneuver, and inquire about the island situation."

"Your minister requests the order to allow merchant ships to go to the Japanese nation to collect intelligence for the use of destroying the Japanese nation, and allow Great Ming merchants to set up various firms in the Japanese nation, send people to various parts of the Japanese nation in groups to survey geography, mountains, rivers, and coastal military deployments, etc., which can both cover people's eyes and ears and provide investigation expenses."

Zhu Yijun understood Zhang Juzheng's meaning: merchants acting as spies to investigate the size of the Japanese nation. He frowned and said, "This matter should not be publicized. It only needs one person to carefully organize it and send it to the capital. But I am truly troubled by the choice of this person."

"Sun Keyi of the Sun family in Songjiang has received the grace of the country for a long time. It is feasible to hand this matter over to Sun Keyi." Since Zhang Juzheng spoke, there was naturally a candidate, and he even chose Sun Keyi, the richest man in Songjiang. Sun Keyi, this richest man, was able to do so by relying on the strong wind of the imperial court's policies. It was most appropriate to let Sun Keyi do this dirty work.

And Sun Keyi was also a sea merchant.

Was Sun Keyi willing or not? His foundation was in the Great Ming. He had to be willing even if he wasn't, and Zhang Juzheng specifically wrote to the Songjiang Governor Wang Daokun to ask. Sun Keyi was willing to serve the Great Ming, and he was sincere, not afraid of the imperial court's punishment.

In the year the Japanese pirates invaded Songjiang Prefecture, if it weren't for the quick rescue of the Maritime Defense Vice Prefect Luo Gongchen, Sun Keyi would probably have died at the hands of the Japanese pirates with his whole family before the day Xu Jie fell.

Destroying the Japanese nation had a broad public opinion basis in the Great Ming. This was not the imperial court's wishful thinking. The southeast coast had been harassed by Japanese pirates for decades, and every family had blood debts, and every household had deadly enemies.

The powerful and wealthy families and gentry in Liangguang, when Yin Zhengmao said he wanted silver to pacify the Japanese and destroy the pirates, although they were ten thousand times unwilling, they still accepted the donation and took out the money. Putting a knife on their necks was one aspect, but on the other hand, pacifying the Japanese pirates really required helping to clear the field; otherwise, if the Japanese pirates couldn't be pacified, the Japanese pirates would really kill your whole family.

"Hmm, in that case, Master, please continue." Zhu Yijun's eyes lit up. Zhang Juzheng never shot an arrow without a target. Since the Emperor said he wanted to destroy the Japanese nation, he would carefully prepare, rather than letting the Emperor's policy be like a flower in a mirror or a moon in the water, a mere scrap of paper.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the map and continued, "In this way, it will take at least ten years. So, should these ten years be wasted in vain? Of course not."

"The Japanese slave rebel chieftain Oda Nobunaga goes against the way and heaven, abuses his people, and I hear that the resentment in various islands has not been for one day. The daimyo of various islands have united to besiege the rebel chieftain several times, but they have not been able to succeed. Uniting the forces in the Japanese nation that oppose the Oda family and using the internal contradictions between them is a good idea."

Sowing discord is the instinct of scholars, a passive skill. Zhang Juzheng would naturally use internal contradictions to divide and conquer them one by one.

"From top to bottom, from bottom to top, during these ten years of investigating enemy intelligence, we must not only sharpen our weapons and feed our horses, but also constantly support various 'Ikki' in the Japanese nation, that is, the leaders of various civil rebellions, so that the Japanese nation is too busy to take care of itself." Zhang Juzheng's sowing discord was not only in the superstructure, but also in the foundation.

Ikki is the uprising of the Japanese nation. If they can't live, they rebel, and the Japanese are the same. So supporting various leaders, turning small things into big things, and multiplying big things, is the dirty part of Zhang Juzheng's strategy. And we must amplify various contradictions. Zhang Juzheng had a lot of means to amplify them. After all, Great Ming scholars were best at exaggeration.

Wang Chonggu took out a square towel and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Thinking that he was Zhang Juzheng's political opponent, he broke out in a sweat for no reason.

Zhang Juzheng's way of playing, let alone the Japanese nation, even the Great Ming would be played to death. Being a political opponent of Zhang Juzheng was like an old man hanging himself—tired of living.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Good, good, good, Master, please continue."

"During these ten-plus years, besides sowing discord, we must cultivate pro-Great Ming friends. The Japanese nation has nearly nine million people. If we kill them, even if we cut all the swords of the Great Ming eastern expedition troops, they will all be notched. So these friends, using barbarians to control barbarians is appropriate," Zhang Juzheng added, "These pro-Great Ming friends can play a role before, during, and after our Great Ming's attack."

"Before the attack, they can provide convenient intelligence for our Great Ming merchants to explore; during the attack, they can provide our Great Ming with the Japanese slave rebel situation and clarify their movements; afterwards, they can use barbarians to control barbarians, using the Japanese to govern the Japanese."

"Pro-Great Ming friends." Zhu Yijun shook his head. Zhang Juzheng's words were too pleasant. In fact, it was cultivating Japanese traitors.

At this time, there were quite a few Japanese who admired the Great Ming. This complemented the activities of Great Ming merchants in the Japanese nation. Zhang Juzheng's plan to destroy the Japanese nation highlighted a strategy of planning before acting, and highlighted a strategy of interlocking links.

Zhang Juzheng was actually summarized from long-term practice. These tricks were not rare, but the trickery was that these tricks were all to be used on the Japanese nation.

"The Japanese in the Japanese nation are short. Since ancient times, they have sailed to the Great Ming to 'obtain seeds,' hoping to grow taller. But the Japanese nation's ships are small and weak and cannot withstand the wind and waves, so we should allow Japanese women to enter the Ming to 'obtain seeds,' but once they come, they cannot go back," Zhang Juzheng's voice was a bit low. He also knew that as the Grand Secretary in charge of the country and the Emperor's teacher, teaching the little Emperor such tricks in front of the Emperor was truly too vicious.

Zhang Juzheng's final vicious plan was human trafficking, and it was specialized women trafficking.

The Japanese nation's "obtaining seeds" had a long history, but it was difficult for the Japanese nation's ships to reach the Great Ming. Bringing all the women to the Great Ming would, on one hand, alleviate the imbalance between men and women in the Great Ming, and on the other hand, change the Japanese nation's seeds.

As long as the imperial court tacitly approved, the profit-seeking merchants of the Great Ming would probably not stop until they had emptied the Japanese nation of its women.

If the Japanese nation didn't even have Japanese people, would there still be a Japanese nation?

Begging for monthly votes, awoooooo!!!!

(End of chapter)