Chapter 458: Three Stages of Land Return

Zhu Yijun's investment in opening the sea is typical old-farmer thinking, just like Zhang Juzheng and others in the previous solution to the problem of silver waste, stubbornly choosing a slower method of asset appreciation, rather than a simpler and faster financial method.

Shen Shixing believes that the return rate of the subsequent investment will fall, so the risk will be distributed downward, and part of the risk of opening the sea investment will be distributed to the speculators of the trading exchange by the trading exchange.

But Zhu Yijun still insists on opening the sea, and this time it is 10 million silver.

In the 28th year of Hongwu, the number of official fields in the Great Ming world was more than 5.35 million qing, accounting for 63% of the world's land. Just six years later, in the first year of Yongle, it had become half official fields and half private fields. By the 16th year of Hongzhi, the proportion of official fields further declined, dropping to 25%, which was 1.05 million qing.

In the eighth year of Wanli, the land survey and return, the Great Ming official field proportion was 14.4%, that is, there were 1.1816 million qing of official fields in total. These official fields included Imperial Estates, bestowed fields of various prince mansions, school fields, horse grazing pastures, official fields of hundreds of officials, military colony fields, and civilian colony fields, etc.

The Great Ming has been implementing land survey and return for nine years. By December of the ninth year of Wanli, there were only so many official fields in total, and the rest were all private fields.

"Is the continued investment to increase the proportion of official gardens?" Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and understood why His Majesty wanted to add investment.

At this time, the number and scale of Great Ming plantations, the proportion of official plantations is declining. Among the 1.7 million qing of overseas plantations, only 901,000 qing of land registration is official gardens, accounting for only 53%. Compared with before, the decline speed is accelerating, and the number and scale of private plantations are still expanding.

"It is indeed so." Zhu Yijun nodded and said, production materials belong to the imperial court. Nanyang is the Great Ming's back garden. If the proportion of official gardens drops to 30%, coupled with the objective environment of plantations isolated overseas, Nanyang will likely become a pirate nest threatening the Great Ming's maritime territory, not the Great Ming's back garden.

Zhu Yijun is thinking about this problem from the proportion of production materials.

"Then invest." Zhang Juzheng took a deep breath and asked: "Does the inner treasury have money? According to before, the Quanchu, Quanjin, and Quanzhe halls each contributed 1 million silver, and the national treasury and inner treasury each contributed 3.5 million silver. The national treasury still has silver, enough for expenditure. What about the inner treasury?"

"The Master doesn't need to worry about this." Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "I am really very rich, richer than the national treasury."

The Great Ming Emperor, who is unwilling to pay even a few taels of Buddha-worship money at the singing club, is the richest man in the Great Ming. The wealth of Wang Chonggu, a top carnivore, is not worth mentioning in front of the behemoth of the Emperor.

Imperial Estate business, the national cellar alone has an annual revenue of 1.24 million silver. This is just one item in the Imperial Estate. The Imperial Estate mainly focuses on expensive items, selling dragon saliva incense, coral, large pearls, exquisite gold and silver jewelry, luxurious furniture, etc. The Imperial Estate's total income for the whole year of the ninth year of Wanli was 3.72 million silver. Plus five inland shipping commissioners and four overseas shipping commissioners, this year's inner treasury revenue was 3.2 million silver, plantation accounts were 2.2 million silver, and gold flower silver was 1.2 million silver, totaling 10.32 million silver.

The inner treasury revenue mainly comes from Imperial Estates, commercial tax sharing, customs duty sharing, and gold flower silver. Its overall scale is highly consistent with the Great Ming national treasury commercial tax.

Land survey, clean-up of officialdom, rectification of school administration, and strengthening the army are what Zhang Juzheng is doing. Opening the sea, official factory group, and commercial tax reform are the new policies of the Great Ming Emperor.

Zhang Juzheng's new policy + Zhu Yijun's new policy = Wanli New Policy.

Zhu Yijun did not follow Emperor Shenzong of Song, Zhao Xu, supporting Wang Anshi to charge and fight on one side, while supporting the conservative faction such as Han Qi, Sima Guang, and the Empress Dowager to restrain Wang Anshi's reform on the other side.

Zhu Yijun's support for the new policy is unreserved support. "Those who speak of the Master's faults will be beheaded" is his attitude.

"That's fine." Zhang Juzheng smiled. As long as His Majesty has money, it's fine. The national treasury really has no money for expenditure, so he can go to the inner treasury to beg for food. It is much better than the Jiajing period, when the inner treasury and national treasury begged for food from each other, and their pockets were cleaner than their faces.

Zhu Yijun discovered that Zhang Juzheng is old.

It is not that Zhang Juzheng has the old age of twilight, but that Zhang Juzheng has a kind of conservatism that is content with the status quo, not as sharp and enterprising as before.

This is not an illusion. Zhang Juzheng has not put forward any reform measures for a long, long time. On the contrary, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and Wang Chonggu have begun to charge and fight.

"Since the Master returned to the court after Ding You, it seems that there are few words of pioneering." Zhu Yijun chose to speak directly.

Zhang Juzheng is very clear about his state. He smiled and said: "This is as it should be. Your Majesty is already in the prime of life, wise and philosophical, seeing through the treachery, and naturally talented. I am just assisting left and right."

"Very good, already very good, much better than I imagined at the beginning."

During the month of sick leave, Zhang Juzheng also thought for a month. He was thinking about his position in the court, and finally placed himself in the assistant position. His Majesty's growth made him happy, but His Majesty always had a natural prejudice against civil officials in his heart. This prejudice was for self-protection.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, being able to do this step has greatly exceeded his expectations.

"Master, is it time to return the fields?" Zhu Yijun asked.

In the ninth year of Wanli, there were 1.1816 million qing of official fields. In the 28th year of Hongwu, there were more than 5.35 million qing of official fields. This is definitely not Zhang Juzheng's incompetence. The Great Ming only has this one Senior Grand Secretary who can figure out the land registration. The official fields in the Hongwu period were many, and the proportion of official fields was high, because Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding ancestor, just like the overseas plantations now, where official plantations are more than half.

The land movement before the ninth year of Wanli was mainly land survey, which is to figure out whose hands the land was in, and the tax was levied on whom. The land registration (Fish Scale Register) was used to levy taxes, and the return of fields, except for the Songjiang Xu family, Yanzhou Kong family, Xindu Yang family, etc., who were beheaded by the Emperor, the rest of the land was not excessively recovered.

Land survey is not a thorough land movement. Its motivation is for tax. Land survey has serious limitations. Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan are all old difficulties of land survey. In places where the powerful gentry are relatively strong, the resistance to land survey is extremely great.

Up to now, the annexation of land in the Great Ming is still serious, the burden of tax grain is still uneven, and because the land registration is unclear, many tax grain burdens have been transferred to ordinary farmers under various names. The situation of poor people being cruelly exploited has not been fundamentally improved.

Whether to return the fields is equivalent to Zhu Yijun asking Zhang Juzheng if he wants to rebel together.

"Your Majesty, the official factory group needs craftsmen, there is no need to thoroughly return the fields. I think it is better to maintain it." Zhang Juzheng said immediately.

Return the fields? The last one who dared to do this was called Jia Sidao.

The result of doing so is an uproar, but Zhang Juzheng can understand why His Majesty mentioned this problem at this moment. The reason is very simple. Anda Khan has been beheaded, and there is no substantial military threat in the north. It is time to continue to turn the blade inward.

Zhang Juzheng can understand His Majesty's mood. As an Emperor who is close to agriculture, he cares about the people of the world, hates the annexation of the Great Ming, and at the same time, the invisible hand makes the Great Ming wealthy households transform into industry and commerce, rather than digging for food in the soil, promoting the development of the Great Ming's industry and commerce.

The liberal claims of the Songjiang School have some merits. When most of the wealthy households realize the huge profits of industry and commerce, they will automatically transform, and the land in the countryside will naturally return to the hands of farmers.

"From the perspective of tax, the proportion of the Great Ming's land tax has further declined, from 70% last year to 59.2% this year. The proportion decline speed is very fast. Soon, the Great Ming's wealthy households will react." Zhang Juzheng does not think that overly intense means are conducive to the stability of the country.

Zhang Juzheng further said: "Your Majesty, the harm of turmoil to the poor is the greatest, because the people have almost no ability to bear risks, while the powerful gentry have enough ability to resist risks. Just like in troubled times, the local gentry in the north can migrate, and when the Japanese pirates are in chaos, the powerful gentry in the southeast can move inland, but the people can only be trapped in deep water and hot fire."

Prosperity, the people suffer; death, the people suffer.

However, when it is prosperous, the suffering of the people is not one ten-thousandth of the suffering when the world is withered and heroes rise together. Every change of dynasty is inevitably accompanied by a rapid decline in population. Most people are not the sons of destiny. In the cycle of dynasties, endless people become withered bones. Although every turmoil will allow production materials to be redistributed, seemingly solving part of the annexation problem, what is the price?

Maintaining stability, Zhang Juzheng has never considered this a derogatory term.

Zhang Juzheng has never expected war, but he has never feared war.

"The Master's words are reasonable, but I still want to return the fields." Zhu Yijun recognized Zhang Juzheng's statement, but he paused and continued: "Coordinate with the census of population, deny the legality of the deed of sale, and let the poor people settle down."

"The official factory group is already doing it." Zhang Juzheng insisted on his own opinion.

"The quantity is too small, the number of craftsmen in the official factory group is still too small." Zhu Yijun, like Zhang Juzheng, is extremely stubborn.

If I could get a million mansions, I would shelter all the scholars in the world and make them happy.

This is such a beautiful political ideal. His Majesty, who is in the prime of life, is ambitious. As an Imperial Tutor, what Zhang Juzheng should do at this time is to encourage, not to pour cold water. Zhang Juzheng is a minister, and he knows one thing very clearly: the ideal country shining into reality is often an abyss.

This is what His Majesty criticized Confucianism for at the beginning, and this sentence is equally applicable to His Majesty now.

"Your Majesty, there are refugees everywhere in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there are more than 4.4 million soldiers in the garrison. If it weren't for the Jin Dynasty sweeping, the Northern Song Dynasty could also barely maintain it. And the Great Ming's 2.2 million guard troops in the nine borders, although they have no power to conquer, are more than enough to defend the land." Zhang Juzheng made a big circle to remind His Majesty not to take too big a step.

Wu Guifang's declaration of liberating slaves denies the legality of the deed of sale, cooperates with the census of population, and returns fields to settle refugees. In terms of institutional design, it seems that there is no problem, but Zhang Juzheng's opposition is also based on practice and experience.

Sometimes, doing nothing is also a kind of wisdom.

"I still think it is very necessary." Zhu Yijun can of course understand Zhang Juzheng's opposition, but the thorough land movement, the tiller having his own land, has a pivotal significance for the Great Ming. Zhu Yijun thinks it is very necessary.

The premise of industrialization is thorough land reform. This is the experience that Zhu Yijun knows but Zhang Juzheng does not know, so Zhang Juzheng still does not know what the Emperor wants to do. The steam engine is indeed the spark that ignited everything, but it will also pass away in a flash. To make this spark become a raging flame, more people need to raise the torch together.

The high annexation of land brings about the tenant system, which is not essentially different from slavery, and tenants are almost equivalent to slaves. And if you want to ignite the fire of the Great Ming's industry, the first thing to change is production relations, releasing tenants from the land.

Only by doing so will tenants get rid of the status of slaves, truly have land and property, and improve production enthusiasm and productivity. And the sufficient development of agriculture can provide enough material basis for industrialization. At the same time, tenants get rid of the constraints of their own deeds of sale, will they reproduce, and can provide sufficient industrial population.

Zhang Juzheng cannot understand why His Majesty is so persistent, but he thought for a moment and shook his head: "If Your Majesty thinks it is necessary, then do it. I think we can start from Songjiang Prefecture, and then from Songjiang Prefecture to Nanya, from Nanya to Zhejiang and Shandong, and plan slowly. I hope to complete the return of fields in ten or twenty years."

The difficulty of returning fields is much higher than land survey, and the process of returning fields needs to be explored by practice. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng means: His Majesty thinks it is necessary, then do it, and he will execute it. He can bear the infamy of the future alone.

The pilot place is Songjiang Prefecture. The Governor of Songjiang is Shen Shixing, Zhang Juzheng's disciple, a staunch Zhang party. In Songjiang Prefecture pilot, Zhang Juzheng did not have the idea of shirking.

Anyway, the Great Ming has sufficient trial and error redundancy. If you do it wrong, at most you will flip the pancake, as if you haven't done it, and it's not that you will promote it immediately and promote it nationwide.

"If you want to proceed, I have upper, middle, and lower strategies." Since Zhang Juzheng agreed with His Majesty, he immediately chose to remonstrate. On the basis of land survey, carry out the return of fields.

"The Master didn't agree before, but now he immediately brought out upper, middle, and lower strategies. This is prepared early!" Zhu Yijun was stunned. Zhang Juzheng's compromise is fine, but he is still prepared to offer strategies. It is not prepared early. Zhu Yijun will eat the two stone lions at the door!

"Indeed prepared early." Zhang Juzheng stood up, walked to the museum shelf behind the long desk, picked up a memorial, and handed it to Feng Bao, who transferred it to His Majesty.

The cover of this memorial has been oxidized and yellowed. Land survey was initiated by Zhang Juzheng. He has been the Senior Grand Secretary for nine years and has naturally thought about the tiller having his own land, and it is not that he has thought about it, but he thinks about it day and night, but finally did not have the determination to promote it. He did not want to make the world an uproar.

But now that His Majesty has started this, the world is your Zhu family's. Your Zhu family doesn't feel distressed, what is Zhang Juzheng distressed about!

Zhu Yijun opened the memorial, looked at it for a long time, and then closed it. He put the memorial into his sleeve, to take it back and study it carefully. It will be the New Year's holiday soon, even if you want to discuss the return of fields, it will be after the New Year.

Zhang Juzheng still has goods in his stomach. If you force him again, he can pour it out.

This is Zhu Yijun's first thought after reading the memorial.

Zhang Juzheng's memorial has three national policies, upper, middle, and lower. Rather than distinguishing between upper, middle, and lower, it is better to describe it with progress, which is more accurate.

The first stage, abolish slavery, thoroughly abolish the humble status. Census of population is the process of formulating the Yellow Register. After formulating the Yellow Register, announce the abolition of the humble status. Humble statuses such as singers, actors, servants, soldiers, slaves, etc., are abolished. After the abolition of the humble status, in terms of legal status, everyone is treated equally. If this step cannot be done, then everything is out of the question. As long as the Yamen still supports the deed of sale, the so-called return of fields is a joke.

Scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants are good, slaves and singers are humble.

Those of base status remained of base status for generations; they were not permitted to change their profession, not permitted to register under false pretenses, and furthermore, they were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. Those of improper origin were strictly forbidden from sitting for the exams.

This was also Zhang Juzheng's inferior strategy. The imperial court would not interfere excessively, but merely grant tenant farmers and the like an equal status in law, allowing an invisible hand to regulate the means of production and the relations of production. This method incurred the least amount of infamy for the imperial court and was likewise the slowest; it could only be left to time.

The second stage was rent reduction. The imperial court would strictly stipulate that the rent landlords could demand from tenant farmers must not exceed 25% of the land's output. If it exceeded this, they would be punished according to the circumstances, with the most severe penalty being the confiscation of the family's property, and the land titles confiscated from the family would be released to the commoners for self-cultivation.

"Releasing for cultivation" meant the imperial court publicly sold and released the land; it was also a part of the rent reduction stage. It meant the imperial court used various means such as silver, ship permits, and certificates to purchase land from landlords and then sold it to the commoners. The land price would be paid off by the purchasing commoners over ten years.

This was Zhang Juzheng's intermediate strategy. The imperial court would not take it for free, nor would it confiscate it for free; it would use silver or other equivalents to exchange for the fields in the landlords' hands, then sell them to the commoners, and subsequently, the imperial court would recover the land price through additional levies, completing the land transfer.

This intermediate strategy looked perfect, but in reality, if executed, it would surely be riddled with loopholes. Whether it was public sale and release or paying off the land price over ten years, as long as the wealthy families and local yamen colluded, it would further become a tool for land annexation.

Thus came Zhang Juzheng's superior strategy: Land Quotas.

The third stage, Land Quotas: no one was permitted to hold land deeds for more than 100 mu under their name; otherwise, it would be confiscated for free. The confiscated land deeds would be converted into government land, used by the relevant authorities to settle displaced people. The land registers could not be traded, and with the *li* (110 households per *li*) as the unit, it would be collectively owned.

While they appeared to be superior, intermediate, and inferior strategies, in reality, given the actual situation of the Great Ming, being able to achieve the second stage would already be cause to shout, "May the ancestors protect us!"

Returning land was very difficult. Zhang Juzheng was very clear about the difficulty involved, so he wrote nearly ten thousand words in a grandiloquent manner. Moreover, this was just his simple planning, not concrete practice. By the day of practice, the problems encountered would only be more numerous. Zhang Juzheng was not sure if he could achieve the second stage in his lifetime.

"The Master has great talent." Zhu Yijun put away the memorial and said sincerely.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is grand and resolute."

These contents of his were not fresh things either; they were actually a variation of the Government Land Law of Jia Sidao from the end of the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, the Southern Song was in a precarious state, and Jia Sidao was too impatient, making a mess of things. Jia Sidao was killed by the County Magistrate Zheng Huchen, who was escorting him, and four years later, the Southern Song perished.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng had already been doing these things in the second year of Wanli. For example, the court deliberation in the second year of Wanli stipulated that for ships going to sea, one ship permit could be exchanged for ten thousand mu of fertile land, with poor fields discounted at one-fourth and medium fields at one-half. Songjiang Prefecture had already undergone redemption, though the main purpose at the time was to supply the needs of the naval forces.

Now, the purpose of Zhang Juzheng's New Policies was completely different; the contents of this memorial were universal in nature.

"Master, if I hadn't brought up this matter today, were you not planning to submit this memorial?" Zhu Yijun asked very seriously.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Great Ming is already very good."

In Zhang Juzheng's view, there was no need to go that far. The Great Ming's restoration was already a foregone conclusion. Doing more would lead to more mistakes. If, by chance, pushing the New Policies really caused the Great Ming to fall into disarray, that was not a situation Zhang Juzheng wanted to see.

"The most important thing now is to eat!" Zhu Yijun stood up and said with a beaming smile.

Heaven and Earth are vast, but eating is the most important thing.

Zhu Yijun had lunch at the Quanchu Quanchu Quanchu Huiguan. After returning to Tonghe Palace, he went to the North Tucheng camp to inspect the troops and horses. As the sun set in the west, the Great Ming Emperor returned to Tonghe Palace and received the memorial reports from the Huangji Gate, organized by the Drafting Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

Every year before the New Year, Zhu Yijun would receive local officials, assistant county magistrates, village elders, and commoners, from a small number of local officials in the first year of Wanli to the scale of nearly a thousand people now.

These memorial reports helped Zhu Yijun understand the current situation of the Great Ming.

In these few days before the New Year, Zhu Yijun was not relaxed. He had to go to Daxing Nanhai Zi to see the families of the Marquis of the Beacon Towers, go to the Yongding Woolen Mill to inspect, and also go to the Xishan Coal Bureau to see the kiln workers. Afterward, he had to take the Empress to the Relief Institute to check on the poor and laborers spending the winter; these were all customary practices.

On the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Yijun even specifically went to the Grand Marshal's mansion. Tan Lun's condition was getting worse and worse. Zhu Yijun waited for half a *shichen* but did not wait for Tan Lun to regain consciousness, so he could only leave.

Tan Lun was stubbornly holding on, waiting for the Beijing Garrison to return in triumph, but the Chief Physician said that it would be very difficult for Tan Lun to survive this winter.

In the dead of night, Zhu Yijun opened Zhang Juzheng's "Memorial on Returning Land" again and read it for a long time. Zhang Juzheng had no idea what kind of impact a thorough land movement would bring to the Great Ming, just like the second volume of his class theory on distribution, which he had been slow to write, so he had not submitted it.

But Zhang Juzheng felt that it was correct; that was the direction, so he kept thinking about it. Breaking the feudal relations of production that had existed for thousands of years and releasing the productivity of tenant farmers was no longer just unorthodox; it was treasonous.

"Your Majesty, it is time to rest." Wang Yaozhuo walked in with a wave of fragrance and said with a smile, her eyes like water, full of affection.

Wang Yaozhuo, the last hope of the Great Ming Emperor's harem. From ancient times to the present, competing for favor against state affairs had never been so difficult.

"The slave rebellion in the Southern Yamen—they shouted to 'level the master and servant, the noble and the base, the rich and the poor.' I don't know if they can do it, but I know that the Master's Land-Returning Law can." Zhu Yijun solemnly put away the memorial. He had already had the Drafting Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial copy several versions and send them to the court officials.

The New Policies of the tenth year of Wanli were: census of households, abolition of base status, and the Land-Returning Law.

Wang Yaozhuo could understand; her husband always mentioned these things to her. Wang Yaozhuo never interfered in politics, but she knew very well that her husband was the master of the world's state, a sovereign who cared for the common people, respected the virtuous and lowered himself to the talented, trusted in rewards and punishments, and was diligent in government.

"If Your Majesty feels it should be done, then do it." Wang Yaozhuo breathed like an orchid and said in a low voice, "Husband, this wife learned some tricks from the old nanny; let me show you, husband."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun raised an eyebrow. Since the other party had issued a PK request, there was no reason for Zhu Yijun to avoid the battle.

On the seventh day of the seventh month, after Zhu Xuanying was born, Wang Yaozhuo had been doing postpartum recovery, and it was clear she had recovered well.

The next morning, Zhu Yijun woke up on time from his sleep. Seeing Wang Yaozhuo, who was exhausted, he left on tiptoe. A short separation is better than a new marriage; Wang Yaozhuo had played a bit wildly last night and was quite tired. Zhu Yijun still had to attend the last court deliberation of the year, so he got up early.

In her daze, Wang Yaozhuo knew her husband had left. The big fire stove beside her had suddenly disappeared; of course, she could feel it. She was too tired to open her eyes and could not break free from the seal of the quilt, so she fell into a drowsy sleep again, merely hugging Zhu Yijun's pillow in her arms.

"Mang Yinglong is dead, and Toungoo is in internal chaos. Our Yunnan local authorities should be more vigilant and stay prepared. Mang Yingli has long looked down upon our Great Ming. Before the war in the Strait of Ma Liujia ends, we will not launch an attack." Minister of War Ceng Shengwu first spoke about military affairs before the New Year.

Only by advancing by sea and land could they thoroughly eliminate Toungoo's will to resist. This was something that had already been determined when Tan Lun was still around.

When Mang Yinglong was alive, Mang Yingli had repeatedly made remarks disparaging the Great Ming, such as often saying to those around him: "The Great Ming is beset by troubles internally and externally. If one day I become king, I will surely take it easily," and other such nonsense.

When Mang Yinglong was alive, he didn't dare to easily provoke the Great Ming, but Mang Yingli really dared.

"The Governor-General's offices of Nagasaki, Ryukyu, Luzon, and Jiugang have sent congratulatory memorials for the New Year." Minister of Rites Wan Shihe happily took out four memorials. These were sent by the four major Governor-General's offices, which could also be considered an expression of their submission.

Wan Shihe looked at the court officials and explained with a smile, "Mainly, good news has come from Jiugang. The Goa Governor-General's office is in internal chaos. Marquis of Yingyang Zhang Yuanxun took advantage of their internal chaos and decisively advanced, capturing twelve strongholds in succession. At present, the Goa Governor-General's office in the Strait of Ma Liujia has only one city left, Ma Liujia, isolated and without aid."

"Good! Very good." Ceng Shengwu's eyes lit up as he looked at the terrain map. Ma Liujia City and the surrounding small bastions were extremely difficult to capture. Zhang Yuanxun's strategy was to flood them with water and focus on attacking the strong points. The easy-to-attack castles had already been pulled out; the remaining ones were the most difficult.

The Great Ming knew the importance of the Strait of Ma Liujia, and the Goa Governor-General's office knew it too. The Governor of Goa and the Governor of Diu joined forces to resist the enemy.

This remaining city and twelve bastions were the hardest bones to chew. According to Zhang Yuanxun's plan, it would take at least another three to six months to capture the twelve bastions of Ma Liujia and finally take Ma Liujia City.

This internal strife in the Goa Governor-General's office directly accelerated this process.

The reason for the internal strife was that one part wanted to stay, and one part wanted to leave.

The two-year-long war had caused great divergence in voices within the Goa Governor-General's office. The Great Ming's determination to take the Strait of Ma Liujia was extremely firm, and the Portuguese and Spanish homelands were too far away to provide direct military support. Since it was certain to be lost, it was better to leave early.

The Portuguese troops and their retainers, whose will to resist was gradually weakening, saw their differences magnified bit by bit when food and fresh water began to run short. Finally, internal strife occurred. Zhang Yuanxun, having received the news, decisively launched an attack, wiping out the twelve bastions in one fell swoop, leaving only the isolated city of Ma Liujia.

This isolated city no longer affected the passage of Great Ming merchant ships through the sea. In other words, the Great Ming had already completely gained actual control of the Strait of Ma Liujia.

"It is still better to pull out this nail before we can use troops against Toungoo." Ceng Shengwu looked at the terrain map and said with slight regret.

With such a nail stuck in the throat, moving troops easily would make life and death unpredictable.

He had entered the capital as the Provincial Governor of Sichuan and became the Junior Minister of War. When he pacified Jiusi, he was extremely aware of the contradictions in the southwest direction. Thoroughly wiping them out to eliminate future trouble was the advocacy of Ceng Shengwu, this Junior Minister of War.

Ceng Shengwu was a conservative.

(End of chapter)