Chapter 359: His Majesty

Five hundred taels can buy 50,000 catties of pork belly in Great Ming. The price of one catty of pork belly is eighteen "flying coins" or seven "big coins," flying coins being thin iron coins, and big coins being Zhiyuan Tongbao, three-qian-weight big coins. One tael of silver is one hundred catties of pork belly. The price of one shi of rice varies, about three to four qian. Even if calculated at the most expensive five qian, one tael of silver can buy two shi of rice, so five hundred taels is one thousand shi, which is 150,000 catties of rice.

This is still in the capital, the place of the first good. If it were not in the capital, it would be a little more. Everything in the capital is expensive, and it is not easy to live there for a long time.

Yao Xu Guangqi was no longer the wealthy young master he was back then. When Wang Qian stood in front of the door and casually asked someone to lift five hundred taels of silver for Yao Xu Guangqi to use for daily expenses, Yao Xu Guangqi truly wished he could call the other party "godfather" on the spot.

His wife, a lady from a famous family, divorced him directly because he spent two hundred taels to buy grain for disaster relief!

Wang Qian actually envied Yao Xu Guangqi very much. The less he had, the more he envied it. Back when he wanted to go to Lu Song, he also had a great ambition and a great heart of "worrying about the world's worries before the world, and enjoying the world's happiness after the world," but in the end, he didn't make the trip.

Yao Xu Guangqi left with five hundred taels of silver, feeling grateful. As soon as he returned to the Hall of Meeting, Wang Wang Chonggu's younger brother, Wang Wang Chongyi, sent someone to propose marriage.

Wang Wang Chonggu was a businessman. Yao Xu Guangqi not only had a kelp business with an annual profit of 100,000 silver, but also a great merit. If he delayed, things would change. Wang Wang Chongyi hurriedly went to his door, quickly and fast, taking advantage of the fact that the matter hadn't spread yet, and quickly cooked the raw rice into cooked rice, not letting the two old dogs of the Yao family come to their senses.

Seven days later, Yao Xu Guangqi was a bit dazed in his new home, a small courtyard with two entrances, and officially married Wang Wang Chongyi's daughter. Similarly, Wang Wang Chonggu held a grand banquet at the All-Shanxi Hall, which was considered their old Wang family officially recognizing Yao Xu Guangqi as his son-in-law.

All this happened too fast. Yao Xu Guangqi was still a bit dazed when he became the son-in-law of the Wang family. In the capital, he had a residence and a legitimate wife, and the kelp business he was thinking about day and night was directly negotiated with his father-in-law Wang Wang Chongyi.

This brings up an old matter from back then.

On April 4, the fifth year of Emperor Longqing, Censor Gao Yongchun inspected the salt affairs in Hedong. At that time, Gao Yongchun said: "The salt law is ruined because of the monopoly of big merchants and the reliance of powerful families, which is why it doesn't work." Because he pointed to the Governor and Minister Wang Wang Chonggu's younger brother and the father of the Minister of Personnel Zhang Zhang Siwei as big merchants, and Wang Chonggu and Zhang Siwei as powerful families, he requested to punish Wang Chonggu and dismiss Zhang Siwei.

This matter finally reached the court discussion. The Hedong Salt Case was also one of the events in the struggle for the position of Grand Secretary between Zhang Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong.

Wang Wang Chonggu's younger brother Wang Wang Chongyi, Zhang Zhang Siwei's father Zhang Yunling, uncle Zhang Xialing, and younger brother Zhang Si-jiao were all targets of Censor Gao Yongchun's accusation. Even though Zhang Zhang Siwei pleaded in every way, he eventually ended up with the result of retiring.

Wang Wang Chongyi was a very big salt merchant, and now Yao Xu Guangqi had become Wang Wang Chongyi's son-in-law, so this business was naturally even easier to do.

The next day, Yao Xu Guangqi also asked his wife clearly. She was not Wang Wang Chongyi's own daughter, but a distant cousin of the Wang family. Wang Wang Chongyi didn't have a daughter of suitable age for marriage, so he had to adopt one from a distant branch. Obviously, Wang Wang Chonggu and Wang Wang Chongyi didn't intend to hide it from Yao Xu Guangqi; otherwise, they would have already made up their story.

But Wang Wang Chonggu held a grand banquet at the All-Shanxi Hall, and Wang Wang Chongyi recognized this son-in-law in the capacity of a father-in-law. Even if she wasn't his own daughter, she was still his own daughter. Wang Wang Chongyi specially sent two big managers to Shandong, which was considered the official start of this business.

Yao Xu Guangqi was still very grateful to Wang Wang Chonggu. Their Wang family had a large business and did a lot of buying and selling. This kelp business, if done well, would have an annual profit of 100,000 silver; if done poorly, it might lose money. Wang Wang Chonggu could have completely avoided this suspicion, but Wang Wang Chonggu still took on this business and truly took action.

Yao Xu Guangqi received the reward from the Ministry of War. This was a military merit reward. The sea pirate stronghold of three hundred people that was wiped out was enough to be rated as a fifth-class merit reward medal. Each of the five hundred soldiers who participated in the suppression of the bandits could receive a reward of twenty silver.

Yao Xu Guangqi finished his business at the Ministry of War. Just as he walked out of the door, he saw a small eunuch rushing from the Noon Gate. This small eunuch recognized him as soon as he saw him.

To be an official in Great Ming, you have to be good-looking. Otherwise, even if you are a top scholar, you will be moved to the second rank because of your appearance. For example, Qiu Jun from Qiongzhou, the one who wrote "Supplement to the Extended Meaning of the Great Learning," the first Ming Jinshi from Hainan, had his top scholar title given to someone else because of his appearance.

This long scar on Yao Xu Guangqi's face was truly too eye-catching, and he was recognized by the small eunuch immediately.

The small eunuch grabbed Yao Xu Guangqi and said, "Are you the supervisor Yao Xu Guangqi of the Mizhou Shipping Bureau?"

"Exactly." Yao Xu Guangqi hurriedly said.

"His Majesty summons you." The small eunuch took Yao Xu Guangqi to the Left Shun Gate, let him wait there for a while, and then led him to wait in front of the Zhao Wenhua Hall. This wait lasted for half an hour.

Yao Xu Guangqi wanted to open his mouth to ask, he was a bit thirsty after drinking salty soup in the morning, but the small eunuch stood motionless beside him, very serious, making Yao Xu Guangqi not dare to open his mouth.

"Proclaim Yao Xu Guangqi to appear." A team of eunuchs hung their voices and passed down the imperial decree. Only then did Yao Xu Guangqi, under the guidance of the small eunuch, walk up the Zhao Wenhua Hall step by step. Crossing the hall door, he didn't dare to look up, and hurriedly performed a grand ceremony.

"This subject pays respects to His Majesty. Long live, long live, long live." Yao Xu Guangqi bowed his head and ears, very submissive.

"Rise, be seated." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Xu Guangqi, his tone was relatively relaxed, and he even bestowed a seat on Yao Xu Guangqi. This was a super-standard treatment that many fourth-rank assistant censors didn't have when entering the hall. Zhang Hong also gave Yao Xu Guangqi a cup of tea.

"After half a year, seeing Yao Minister again, you are very different. My heart is very comforted." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Xu Guangqi, his tone was quite gentle.

His Majesty was very happy. Feng Bao and Zhang Hong, as the two lackeys under His Majesty's command, could both see His Majesty's attitude and tone.

"This subject has never had the honor of seeing His Majesty before." Yao Xu Guangqi frowned. He had truly never seen His Majesty before. He didn't even know what the Emperor looked like. Why did His Majesty say this? How could it be "seeing again"?

"You look up." Zhu Zhu Yijun said with full of mischief.

Yao Xu Guangqi looked up, his brows knitted into a knot. His Majesty's appearance gradually overlapped with a certain appearance in his heart. He was a bit dazed. When he was fighting with Wang Qian, beside the pillar on the second floor of the Yanxing Tower, there was always a person who shouted loudly when he and Wang Qian clashed. That look of watching the fun and not fearing the trouble, wishing they would fight immediately, was extremely impressive. It turned out that the guy

Cold sweat poured down Yao Xu Guangqi!

Back then, one of his lackeys thought His Majesty looked a bit unpleasant; His Majesty, who was at Yanxing Tower, was indeed annoying, and he was the one shouting the loudest in the whole place! That lackey asked Yao Xu Guangqi if he wanted to teach him a lesson, but Yao Xu Guangqi didn't want to look for trouble, so he didn't let the lackey go and provoke him.

"Did you recognize me?" Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a chuckle.

"This subject was blind and begs Your Majesty to forgive his sins." Yao Xu Guangqi was completely numb; in the capital of the Great Ming, the waters were deep and there were many 'turtles'—to think that His Majesty was among the people watching the commotion at Yanxing Tower! Fortunately, he hadn't let his lackey teach him a lesson back then!

"No harm, no harm. Back then, you at Yanxing Tower were unsteady on your feet, your eyes were dull, your face was deathly pale, and you were even bloated. Look at you now—striding like a dragon and walking like a tiger, your body is much sturdier. Good, good, good." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Yao Xu Guangqi's scar and said with a smile, "This scar was left for the sake of the common people; I have noted it down on behalf of the people."

Feng Bao and Zhang Hong exchanged a glance. His Majesty hadn't said that back then; His Majesty had cursed quite viciously at the time, saying Yao Xu Guangqi didn't do his proper work all day and only knew how to spread his 'virtue,' calling him nothing but a flashy-looking blockhead. His Majesty had indeed disliked Yao Xu Guangqi very much back then, but now Yao Xu Guangqi had gained a bit of imperial favor.

"It's nothing major." Yao Xu Guangqi didn't think this scar was anything; he felt that if someone else had been in his position as the supervising official, they would have done the same. The kelp he had worked so hard to grow—why should these Japanese pirates be allowed to cut it?

Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Good, good, good. Grand Secretary Wang has a good eye; he found a good niece's husband."

"This subject is ashamed and unworthy of such praise." Wang Wang Chonggu immediately bowed his head and said. Yao Xu Guangqi had earned it himself; in front of the Yanxing Tower, he had been humiliated like that by his own son, yet for the sake of the kelp business, he had still thickened his face to beg for a meal—otherwise, how could there have been what followed? Even if Yao Xu Guangqi succeeded in this kelp business, he wouldn't be raking in silver; Yao Xu Guangqi was just helping the fishermen find a market.

This was a merit picked up for nothing; sitting at home, the credit fell from the sky.

Zhu Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said sternly, "Yao Xu Guangqi, do this kelp business well. It is a good thing for saving the world and rescuing the people. Among the people in coastal areas, goiters are not common, but in the interior, they are very common. In the civilian world, a bowl of kelp soup might save a household. They work hard to give birth to a child, only for it to be a deformed one. As parents, it is difficult to abandon them, and difficult to raise them. The profit is not thick, but the four words 'saving the world and rescuing the people' are worth putting in the effort."

"If you do this well, I will grant you a special Imperial Examination Ming Jinshi degree."

Was what Zhu Zhu Yijun giving just a special Imperial Examination Ming Jinshi degree? It was being held in the Emperor's heart; it was imperial favor; it was a future of rising steadily and soaring to success—the prerequisite being that Yao Xu Guangqi truly did this matter well.

Yao Xu Guangqi bowed his head again and said, "This subject obeys the decree."

Yao Xu Guangqi took his leave and exited the Zhao Wenhua Hall. Of course, he understood His Majesty's promise, but his emotional fluctuation regarding this promise was not very large. His Majesty had always been a man of his word, but whether he could actually digest this big pie His Majesty had drawn for him would depend on whether he could fight for it himself.

"Supervisor Yao, this is an extra reward from His Majesty. Ten taels of silver is not much, but it is not little either. You should keep it well." A small eunuch handed a money bag to Yao Xu Guangqi. This ten taels of silver didn't seem like much, but if one thought about it a little more, for the stingy His Majesty to take out ten taels of silver as a reward, this was already a tremendous favor.

His Majesty liked to reward with real gold and silver; those who could receive His Majesty's silver were all people who had left their names in His Majesty's mind.

The reason Zhu Zhu Yijun specifically summoned Yao Xu Guangqi was that this kelp was something Zhu Zhu Yijun had ordered Ling Ling Yunyi to promote planting. The kelp seeds were sent to the Great Ming by Xu Wei from the Nagasaki Governor's Office. Zhu Zhu Yijun had long been personally involved in agriculture; potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, and chili peppers—he knew how to plant them all. The Director of the Baoqi Office was Xu Xu Zhenming, but outside the Guanghan Hall in the West Garden where the Emperor lived, there was a large expanse of farmland.

Since Yao Xu Guangqi had started doing it, Zhu Zhu Yijun naturally did not intend to stand by and watch.

The news of Yao Xu Guangqi entering the palace to see the Emperor soon reached the ears of some well-informed people. Before Yao Xu Guangqi had even left the palace, the news had already reached the Yao family in Xitucheng.

After receiving the news, Yao Yao Zhangzhen and Yao Yao Changxing were both somewhat puzzled. Why did His Majesty summon a supervising official who was a Juren by background? Why did Wang Wang Chonggu have to put in so much effort to win over a Yao Xu Guangqi who had a scar on his face and was destined never to ascend to the high halls?

"I know now, damn it!" Yao Yao Changxing slapped his thigh. He had figured it out. He said blankly, "Big Brother, this child Xu Guangqi, his soaring success is just around the corner! Congratulations..."

Yao Yao Changxing felt that the Emperor was buying horse bones with a thousand gold, in order to continuously push Juren and Ming Jinshi to become these supervising officials to accumulate practical experience, and to continuously push the call that 'the people are the foundation of the state, and when the foundation is solid, the state is peaceful.' He originally wanted to congratulate his big brother, but he immediately remembered the way everyone had been so polite at the banquet that day.

Being polite never meant they were one family.

Whether Yao Xu Guangqi ascended to heaven or descended into the earth in the future, it would have nothing to do with their Yao family. There was no room for congratulations here; the man was now Wang Wang Chonggu's niece's husband!

"Sigh." Yao Yao Zhangzhen let out a heavy sigh. Yao Yao Zhangzhen sighed because he regretted losing an opportunity to improve relations with His Majesty.

The court discussion in the Zhao Wenhua Hall was still continuing. Yao Xu Guangqi's audience was just the court officials having finished one topic and taking advantage of the gap to let Yao Xu Guangqi enter the hall.

"News has come from Lu Song: the horse ships we sent to the Mughal Empire have been detained by the Goa Governor's Office!" After Yao Xu Guangqi left, Zhu Zhu Yijun's expression changed, and the temperature in the Zhao Wenhua Hall dropped by several degrees. Clearly, the matter of the Great Ming horse ships being detained while passing through the Strait of Ma Liujia on their return journey made Zhu Zhu Yijun extremely, extremely dissatisfied.

Daring to detain the Great Ming's ships! The Governor of the Goa Governor's Office, Menezes, had already paved his own way to death.

Zhang Zhang Juzheng looked around at the court officials and said, "Fifty Great Ming horse ships were suddenly boarded by the Ma Liujia City Hall while resupplying at the port of Ma Liujia. Both people and ships were detained in Ma Liujia City. Menezes sent a message to Governor Yin Yin Zhengmao, setting conditions and saying that only if the Great Ming agreed would he be willing to release them."

Zhu Zhu Yijun said coldly, "No matter what conditions Menezes sets, agree to them. He may have the life to ask, but he won't have the life to spend it!"

"Your Majesty, Menezes only set one condition: he hopes to be able to send an envoy to the Great Ming. Previously, Menezes offered many conditions hoping for peace talks. Menezes suspects that Minister Yin is obstructing it from the middle, and that Lu Song, for the sake of its own interests, refuses to tell the imperial court the conditions he proposed," Zhang Zhang Juzheng said with a complex expression.

Menezes's peace conditions were:

Open all ports and shipping lanes within the jurisdiction of the Goa Governor's Office so that Great Ming merchant ships could pass through and trade freely;

All Great Ming merchant ships would be calculated according to Great Ming tax rates, implementing a 6% customs tax;

Menezes could provide all nautical charts within the Ma Liujia shipping lanes to ensure the Great Ming fleet could navigate smoothly and prevent running aground;

The Great Ming could hire local trackers and barges to carry out the delivery of goods;

For ships merely passing through the Ma Liujia shipping lanes, no customs or taxes would be levied, and he requested the Goa Governor's Office to pay tribute to the Great Ming in the name of the Kingdom of Ma Liujia;

Menezes detained the Great Ming's ships and requested to come to the Great Ming to pay tribute. This operation could be summarized as: "Father, open the door, I'm here to kowtow to you."

The imperial court was very clear about the conditions Menezes gave, but what the Great Ming wanted was the Strait of Ma Liujia itself—that place. No matter how generous the conditions were, they were not as important as that place. No matter how generous the conditions were, they were all in vain, unless he could withdraw from the Strait of Ma Liujia.

"He can send an envoy if he wants, but why detain my ships!!" Zhu Zhu Yijun slapped the table. Zhu Zhu Yijun was extremely angry about the Goa Governor's Office daring to detain the ships. They went out fine, but couldn't come back!

Wan Wan Shihe said with a smile, "Your Majesty, calm your anger. If I were Menezes, I would also detain the ships."

"Why detain the ships? It's actually very simple: he's afraid the Great Ming imperial court doesn't know. The Goa Governor's Office is highly autonomous. In Menezes's eyes, the Lu Song Governor's Office and their Goa Governor's Office are both too big to control. In our Central Plains, this is called a 'fanzhen' (military governor). He wants to talk to the Great Ming, but has no way to communicate directly with the Great Ming imperial court, with Lu Song blocking the middle. He had no choice but to do this."

"This also happens to show that Governor Yin is doing an excellent job in Lu Song. The Battle of Tuna Bay completely shattered Menezes's courage."

In the West, "the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal"—this is very reasonable. But in the Great Ming, the enfeoffment system is only a supplement to the commandery system; the management method of "strips and blocks" is the Great Ming's bureaucratic system, which is completely different from the West.

Menezes did not understand the Great Ming at all. He believed that the Lu Song Governor's Office simply hadn't told the Great Ming imperial court his conditions. Being driven to distraction by Yin Yin Zhengmao, he had no choice but to resort to this inferior strategy.

Having a military conflict with the Great Ming in the Ten Thousand Li Sea Pond was an extremely unwise choice. The Great Ming's homeland was too close, and reinforcements were too fast. He couldn't win if he fought, and had no way to talk. The Great Ming's fifty horse ships, carrying twenty-five thousand warhorses and five hundred stallions, were clearly strategic materials. If Menezes had any other way, he wouldn't have done this.

In these few months, Yin Yin Zhengmao hadn't done anything else but send natives to die under the walls of the castle in the Strait of Ma Liujia.

"The more he does this, the more I must take back the Strait of Ma Liujia. The Jiugang Laos Laos Xuanweisi must be in the hands of the Great Ming!" Zhu Zhu Yijun frowned. Menezes's action proved precisely that if the Strait of Ma Liujia was not in the hands of the Great Ming, these messy matters would only increase.

He could detain the Great Ming's ships now, and he could detain them again in the future. Extortion and blackmail—this kind of thing, once it happens, it will happen countless times.

"Your Majesty, a victory report! A victory report!" A small eunuch rushed into the Zhao Wenhua Hall. In his haste, he didn't notice his feet, resulting in a smooth trip, roll, kneel, and raising of the military report in his hand. This set of smooth little moves both expressed the seriousness of the matter and highlighted his professionalism; even though he had 'accidentally' fallen, he was still able to protect the safety of the victory report.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had seen this smooth little sequence many times. He let Feng Bao take the victory report to the moon terrace. He reached out, checked the wax seal, opened the report, unfolded it, read it, and then handed it to Feng Bao, telling him to pass it down.

"No wonder Menezes wanted to detain the Great Ming's ships and was in such a hurry to send an envoy to talk. So it was a dog jumping over a wall in desperation. Our Great Ming has won another victory, hahaha!!" Zhu Zhu Yijun was able to hold it in at first, but later he burst into hearty laughter, his smile very bright and sunny.

Another victory. In these years, he had almost never heard of any defeat. The only time was in the second year of Emperor Wanli, when the Miyun Regional Commander Tang Tang Kekuan went out of the pass to meet the enemy and died for his country.

Zhu Zhu Yijun still gave Tang Tang Kekuan the treatment of a hero. Even though he had not obeyed General Qi Qi Jiguang and had taken the initiative to go out of the pass to fight, and even though he had stripped Tang Tang Kekuan's son of his hereditary battalion commander title to warn against such behavior of not respecting generals, Zhu Zhu Yijun still built a Hero Shrine for Tang Tang Kekuan, recognizing his status as a hero who died for the Great Ming.

Tang Tang Kekuan's motive for going out of the pass could no longer be verified. Perhaps he did it to fight for credit, perhaps to reduce the pressure on Qi Qi Jiguang's side, or perhaps he had become blinded by bloodlust, but he died outside the pass, on the battlefield. That was a hero.

In these years, Zhu Zhu Yijun was always receiving victory reports, and every time he laughed very happily. The cultivation of self-restraint that Zhang Zhang Juzheng had taught him was always thrown to the winds at this moment.

Indeed, there was no self-restraint. The Great Ming court officials also had no self-restraint, and they were all laughing, just not as intensely.

After the Battle of Tuna Bay, Yin Yin Zhengmao did not stop his pursuit, but immediately began to press the advantage. He had already taken the natives from various plantations and thrown them into the battlefield of the Strait of Ma Liujia. After a fierce engagement, Zhang Zhang Yuanxun led his men and charged into the Jiugang.

It was that Jiugang—the Jiugang Laos Laos Xuanweisi established by the Yongle Emperor—located on the side of the Strait of Ma Liujia closer to the Ten Thousand Li Sea Pond.

"War is a matter of deception."

The hired natives had extremely weak offensive capabilities; every attack was just for show. As time went by, the red-haired barbarians defending the Jiugang became somewhat careless and also started to just go through the motions. As a result, when Zhang Zhang Yuanxun's main force suddenly began to attack the city, the red-haired barbarians thought it was the natives attacking and were lazy and scattered. By the time they discovered it was the enemy's main force, it was already too late. The Jiugang was thus taken by Zhang Zhang Yuanxun in a logical and natural manner.

Zhang Zhang Yuanxun, the former Guangdong Regional Commander. When Yin Yin Zhengmao left the two Guangs, Zhang Zhang Yuanxun followed Yin Yin Zhengmao to Lu Song and was enfeoffed as the Earl of Marquis Yingyang. Since then, he had repeatedly performed meritorious service over several years. When Ling Ling Yunyi was suppressing the Yao people's rebellion in Mount Luopang, fearing he would lose and be beheaded by the Emperor, he specifically borrowed Zhang Zhang Yuanxun from Yin Yin Zhengmao.

After the Battle of Tuna Bay, Zhang Zhang Yuanxun was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Marquis Yingyang. Zhang Zhang Yuanxun hadn't received the enfeoffment edict, coronet, belt, or seal yet—the edict had arrived in Manila, while Zhang Zhang Yuanxun was in the Jiugang, two places nearly two thousand li apart. This victory report, however, had arrived in the capital first.

"General Qi, the battlefield is indeed a place where things change in an instant. General Qi truly does not deceive me." Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Qi Jiguang, his smile still bright.

Qi Qi Jiguang was always saying that the opportunity for battle was fleeting and difficult to grasp, and that being able to accurately grasp the opportunity for battle was military talent. Zhu Zhu Yijun believed Qi Qi Jiguang's words deeply, and now he was even more convinced. This fellow Zhang Zhang Yuanxun had made this situation look so real and fake; if Zhu Zhu Yijun were a red-haired barbarian, he would also have been careless. This cunning Marquis of Marquis Yingyang.

"Your Majesty, troops and horses move, but provisions come first. Logistics is also a battlefield, and it is extremely critical. The rear battlefield determines the front battlefield," Qi Qi Jiguang said very firmly. His Majesty had no military talent? Then expand the definition of military talent—in this way, wouldn't His Majesty have military talent?!

If you can't change the facts, change the definition. Qi Qi Jiguang had his own way of making things work. His Majesty's military talent was higher than the mountains!

His Majesty had extremely high talent in organizing logistics. Before the seas were even opened, His Majesty was already preparing the "Sweet Potato Burn" national cellar. And who would dare say logistics is not a battlefield?

Without five-masted ocean-crossing ships, without three-masted galleons, without combat command ships, without cannons, without muskets, without long and short weapons, without armor, without provisions, without the national cellar—how could the Great Ming navy win? Willpower determines the lower limit, and military equipment determines the upper limit.

The Great Ming's repeated victories—how could they not be the result of the Great Ming Emperor's continuous investment in strengthening the military?

For seven years, through wind and rain, it was His Majesty who went to the Northern Camp every day to inspect the troops. For seven years, it was His Majesty who guaranteed the eighteen taels of silver military pay for the Capital Camp every year. For seven years, it was His Majesty who continuously improved the treatment of soldiers, making the slogan "Report to the Son of Heaven above, save the common people below" a reality.

It is not only those who stand in the light who are heroes.

"Reward!" Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao and said, "This Jiugang Laos Laos Xuanweisi must at least be set as a second-class merit award. According to the agreement, one soldier gets one hundred taels of silver. This expedition had a total of three thousand soldiers. Is there a problem with the Inner Treasury?"

"Your Majesty, the Inner Treasury is abundant." Feng Bao didn't talk much, just letting His Majesty rest assured. For such a small amount of silver, the Inner Treasury could still afford it.

It was only three hundred thousand taels of silver. The Inner Treasury was very wealthy now. At the end of the fifth year of Emperor Wanli, His Majesty had emptied the Inner Treasury for opening the seas, taking away ten million taels of silver at that time.

Now the Inner Treasury had nearly four and a half million in cash, not counting various jewels and treasures. It was just that they were discussing matters in the Zhao Wenhua Hall, so it was inconvenient to talk too much.

Rewards all came from the Inner Treasury. This was something that had been clarified after the five-class merit award system was established. This sum was three hundred thousand taels of silver. Zhu Zhu Yijun was truly stingy when he was stingy, but he was also truly generous when he was generous.

"Let the State Treasury pay for the rewards." Minister of Revenue Wang Wang Guoguang immediately indicated that the State Treasury should also pay some money. With a victory report, rewards were inevitable. If the Inner Treasury had to pay for everything, the palace eunuch Cui Min would go to the Ministry of Revenue to curse in the streets again. These eunuchs in the palace, relying on being villains, cursed as viciously as they could.

"The Marquis of Marquis Yingyang said in the victory report that they detained seventy red-haired barbarian merchant ships anchored in the Jiugang. If Menezes immediately releases the Great Ming's ships, they will release fifty merchant ships. As for the remaining twenty, the Marquis of Marquis Yingyang is asking them for ransom, hahaha!" Tan Lun finished reading the victory report and burst into wild laughter. Daring to detain the Great Ming's merchant ships—he immediately detained the red-haired barbarians' merchant ships.

You detain, I detain.

Zhang Zhang Yuanxun's approach was very much in line with "using their own way to treat them." When the Great Ming and the Goa Governor's Office went to war, it was agreed from the beginning that merchant ships not carrying bows or gunpowder would not be detained or harassed. Since Menezes dared to detain ships, he shouldn't blame Zhang Zhang Yuanxun for not following the rules.

The Great Ming navy and the Spanish expeditionary force had fought for so long on Mindanao, and the Western galleons came every year, but the Great Ming had never once taken action against the galleons. Merchant ships are the lifeline of commodity circulation; if trade is cut off, it is not a good thing for either side.

Qi Qi Jiguang: As long as the soldiers can be fed and watered, even if I have to praise His Majesty as peerless under heaven, I can do it! Begging for monthly votes, awoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter)