Chapter 607

Three lives of misfortune, to be a magistrate in the capital; three lives of evil, to be the Prefect in the capital; sins overflowing, to be the official in the capital.

Wang Wang Xiyuan could not understand how Wang Wang Yie, who went to Shandong to be a Viceroy, had survived ten years as the Vice Prefect of Shuntian. He hadn't even finished his first year and was already unable to hold on. Taking Tu Long's dissolute behavior as an example, there were two Marquises involved in that case!

When Wang Wang Xiyuan received the report, his head swelled. He braced himself and went to the Taibai Tower, and only after great difficulty did he manage to suppress the three young masters and bring them into the room.

Dissolute behavior was a minor matter. Many cases, if not investigated, would fail the scrutiny of the Single Whip Law; if investigated, they might lead to hereditary military nobles, imperial relatives, or high court officials.

The Prefect of Shuntian in the Great Ming was held concurrently by the Ministers of the Six Ministries in rotation. In truth, the Ministers of the Six Ministries never managed these matters; it was always Wang Wang Xiyuan, this Vice Prefect, who had to resolve them. As a student of Zhang Zhang Juzheng, he could not beg the Master for help with everything, or he would truly be too incompetent.

There were also the massive administrative chores that kept Wang Wang Xiyuan running around. The capital now had 2.84 million people, and he was responsible for managing the eating, drinking, and waste of all 2.84 million. Even something like garbage disposal gave Wang Wang Xiyuan a massive headache.

Originally, there were countless "night soil lords" in the capital. These lords often fought fiercely to seize the rights to the night soil routes, and the key was that it would delay the disposal of waste.

In some streets, because the night soil lords couldn't settle their disputes, no one could go in, leading to waste not being disposed of for over ten days, leaving the streets stinking to high heaven, with garbage piling up like mountains.

For the sake of convenience, Wang Wang Xiyuan intended to stop the night soil lords from doing their business and have the court do it instead.

In theory, it was easy for the court to do it. Every year, countless poor laborers entered the capital to make a living. The work of clearing night soil was tiring and smelly, but it could support a family. The court was also not lacking in places for composting, and the official factories were still selling liquid fertilizer.

But when he actually tried to do it, Wang Wang Xiyuan was covered in bumps and bruises. Only then did he understand why Wang Wang Yie and Shen Shen Yiguan, despite knowing that waste disposal involved the face of the Great Ming, still left it to the night soil lords.

Because delegating it to the night soil lords was essentially shifting the contradiction through the mutual harm of the lower classes. When the government took this matter upon itself, the contradiction became one between the government and the people. The Shuntian Prefectural Southern Yamen bore the brunt of it, which could be described as thankless work.

Wang Wang Xiyuan was cursed at terribly. Whenever waste disposal was not timely, or composting was handled improperly, or night soil carts leaked, it was Wang Wang Xiyuan who got cursed at. Even the Southern Yamen runners were dissatisfied with Wang Wang Xiyuan; for a period at the beginning, the runners themselves had to clear the night soil and pull the carts.

Fortunately, Wang Wang Xiyuan held on and handled the matter properly.

This was just waste disposal, and garbage disposal was merely an insignificant trifle among the administrative chores of the Prefectural Southern Yamen.

Wang Wang Xiyuan truly could not hold on anymore.

"How about this: I will assign you four assistant officials, 'Zhongzhi' and 'Congshishi', at the fifth rank, to assist you in administration. That way, the administrative issues can be resolved." Zhu Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and decided to find some helpers for Wang Wang Xiyuan. It was not that Wang Wang Xiyuan lacked the talent of Shen Shen Yiguan or Wang Wang Yie; it was simply that the capital's population was still growing, and urban management had become visibly more complex.

Wang Wang Yie did not have to deal with traffic jams, but Wang Wang Xiyuan did.

Four assistant officials, each in charge of a specific area—the original single 'Zhongzhi' under Wang Wang Xiyuan was indeed not enough.

"Eunuch Feng, issue a decree to the Ministry of Personnel, asking for a strategy for a city of a million people: is it feasible to add four 'Zhongzhi' officials at the fifth rank to take charge of specific areas?" Zhu Zhu Yijun issued a decree to the Ministry of Personnel to inquire about their opinion.

Zhu Zhu Yijun first solved Wang Wang Xiyuan's problem of having too many administrative chores.

The Prefect was held by the Ministers of the Six Ministries—these were political officials, while Wang Wang Xiyuan, the Vice Prefect, was an administrative official, truly a role that took all the abuse.

"The capital has another special characteristic: the officials are all high-ranking. Let me think on this." Zhu Zhu Yijun's fingers tapped continuously on the table, deliberating on how to handle it.

This was an old problem. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, it had already been very obvious. The Song solution was for a Prince or the Crown Prince to concurrently hold the position of Prefect of Kaifeng, but in truth, it was of no use, because whether it was a Prince or the Crown Prince, they never managed these administrative chores, and it was still the Vice Prefect who suffered.

Wang Wang Xiyuan was a direct disciple of Zhang Zhang Juzheng and also a fellow townsman. Wang Wang Xiyuan couldn't hold on because you couldn't beg Zhang Zhang Juzheng for help with everything. Such relationships were only to be used at critical moments. How could any amount of goodwill withstand being worn down every single day? If he ran to the Quanchu Guild Hall to cry and wail every time something happened, in a few days, that goodwill would be severed.

"How about this: I will promote you by one rank, to the third rank. That way, it will be easier to handle things." After thinking it over, Zhu Zhu Yijun found that the biggest problem with the Vice Prefect of Shuntian was that he was only at the fourth rank. This rank was neither big nor small; it just wasn't enough. A higher rank suppresses those below, and now Wang Wang Xiyuan was promoted from the fourth rank to the third rank.

In this way, when Wang Wang Xiyuan handled certain cases, he would have more confidence. Coupled with his deep background, he would be even less afraid of certain people, because above the third rank was the second rank, which fell within the scope of the "Eight Deliberations for the Noble." Cases involving the third rank required court deliberation and were no longer under the jurisdiction of the Vice Prefect of Shuntian.

This could only slightly alleviate Wang Wang Xiyuan's pressure—it was better than nothing. As the saying goes, "a seventh-rank official at the Prime Minister's gate." When it involved the family members of high officials, Wang Wang Xiyuan still had to worry about breaking the vase to kill the rat. It was still difficult. Sometimes high officials would send notes—should Wang Wang Xiyuan accept them or not? These were all problems.

If this problem were easy to solve, it wouldn't have been a difficult issue since the Tang and Song dynasties.

Zhu Zhu Yijun could only alleviate some of his pressure; he still had to hold on himself.

Wang Wang Xiyuan kowtowed again and remained silent for a long time. After pondering for a long while, he bowed his head and said: "Your servant thanks Your Majesty for your immense grace."

He could only thank him. His Majesty's meaning was very clear: he was not allowed to retire and must continue to work. He had even been promoted by a rank, so he could only continue. To keep clamoring for retirement would be somewhat akin to forcing the Emperor's hand.

"Stand up and speak. I know you are in a difficult position. How about this: if you have any difficult matters, come to the Tonghe Palace and ask me directly." Zhu Zhu Yijun gave Wang Wang Xiyuan some extra convenience: the right to see the Emperor.

Only Grand Secretaries and court officials had the power to see the Emperor at any time. Those below court officials had to go through procedures. There were no more than twenty-seven officials who could come to the Tonghe Palace to pay respects and ask about state affairs, and now there was one more: Wang Wang Xiyuan. This was to give Wang Wang Xiyuan convenience so he wouldn't be so troubled.

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for your immense grace!" Wang Wang Xiyuan was overjoyed to hear this. Neither the assistant officials nor the promotion were as straightforward as the right to see the Emperor!

This was His Majesty's promise: go ahead and do your work boldly. Even if you poke a hole in the sky, His Majesty will be there to cover it.

This power to see the Emperor when there was trouble might not need to be used, but as long as he had this power, he would have the confidence to do things and would not have to avoid the powerful and noble. How big could anyone be compared to the sky?!

Zhu Zhu Yijun kept Wang Wang Xiyuan for another two quarters of an hour, mainly to chat about the many details of Yunnan copper. Wang Wang Xiyuan was no incompetent person. In Yunnan, he had fought with real swords and guns against the local Replace Tusi for four years before he managed to grab the foundation of Yunnan copper, putting the Yunnan copper official factories on the right track. He then managed them for eight years, thoroughly making Yunnan copper a pillar industry of Yunnan.

Even now, there were shrines to Wang Wang Xiyuan in Yunnan, commemorating his merits, just as Li Bing and his son were deified as Erlang Shen.

"Your servant takes his leave." Wang Wang Xiyuan bowed and took his leave.

Zhu Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Wang Xiyuan's retreating figure and said to Feng Bao: "In the future, when Wang Wang Xiyuan comes to see me, if I am not here, let him write a memorial in the West Flower Hall, and I will handle it when I see it."

A memorial—not an official document, but it had its conveniences.

"Your Majesty is already busy with administrative chores, handling ten thousand matters a day, and you still want to help him handle affairs? He, as an official, does not think of exhausting his efforts to repay the holy grace and share the Emperor's worries, but instead asks Your Majesty to resolve his difficulties. What kind of logic is this? This servant does not understand." As the Inner Minister, Feng Bao did not raise his doubts in front of an outside official, but he did not approve of His Majesty's handling.

His Majesty was already busy enough.

Zhu Zhu Yijun said with a smile: "Wang Wang Xiyuan was doing just fine in Yunnan, and his next step was to seek the position of Viceroy of Yunnan. He came back to the capital to report on his duties, and now that he's here, he can't go back."

"How can I say it—it was I who needed to use him, so I kept him in the capital. Why did I talk to Wang Wang Xiyuan about Yunnan copper? The Yunnan copper mines have had some setbacks; it can be considered the court disturbing the local area."

"Giving him a little bit of convenient power—besides, Wang Wang Xiyuan is also a man of loyalty. He won't bother me with minor matters. In truth, he just lacks a bit of confidence, and I am giving him that confidence."

Now Wang Wang Xiyuan had the power to take matters to the Emperor. This power was truly important to him.

This was a powerful weapon. He might not even need to truly take matters to the Emperor; as long as the word was out, many problems would be resolved easily.

Just like the current Prefect of Hangzhou, Yan Yan Shixuan. In Shanghai County, he had no way to take matters to the Zhao Wenhua Hall, so he could only be careful and cautious, treading on thin ice.

"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Bao thought for a moment and accepted His Majesty's explanation. Wang Wang Xiyuan would have to be insane to bother His Majesty with every little detail.

Zhu Zhu Yijun began to review the memorials until the moon climbed above the willow branches, at which point he stretched. Diligent governance was merely a necessary prerequisite for a revival.

After the Qing Dynasty had been ruined by Emperor Qianlong for over sixty years, Emperor Qianlong finally breathed his last, and the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor finally obtained the real imperial power he had dreamed of.

From the moment he gave Emperor Qianlong the temple name "Gaozong," the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor began to govern with diligence.

He began to fight corruption, starting with Heshen, but after years of fighting corruption, he discovered that the more he fought, the more it grew—for every corrupt official he killed, fifty more jumped out to continue the corruption.

He began to rectify the administration, but the more he rectified, the more chaotic it became. Party strife grew increasingly intense, reaching a situation that even the Emperor could not suppress.

He rectified the educational administration, but the more he rectified, the worse the atmosphere became. The system of "Zuo Shi" (patronage) had become the norm over Emperor Qianlong's sixty years; everyone was a lackey, all were complicit and seeking shelter.

He led by example in promoting frugality, not repairing palaces or temples, and not indulging in luxury, but the more he promoted frugality, the more rampant the atmosphere of extravagance became.

On the morning of the twentieth day of the second intercalary month of the eighth year of Emperor Jiaqing, the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor returned to the palace, entering through the Shenwu Gate and turning to the Shunzhen Gate to enter the palace. The Shenwu Gate was already within the forbidden grounds.

The cook Chen De and his son Chen Lu'er slipped into the East Flower Gate of the Forbidden City like ghosts, circled around to the North Gate, the Shenwu Gate, and then hid behind the gable of the West Side Room outside the Shunzhen Gate, waiting for the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor.

When the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor's palanquin arrived, Chen De brandished a large saber and charged at the palanquin.

Not a single imperial guard or saber-wielding guard blocked him. It was not until Chen De charged in front of the palanquin and shouted, "Dog Emperor, give me your life!" that the guards reacted and subdued him.

After the investigation, it turned out this Chen De was mentally ill. The reason he wanted to assassinate the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor was simply to become famous and have people remember him; there was no mastermind behind it.

As for how he slipped into the Forbidden City, how he bypassed the Shenwu Gate, and how he ambushed in the West Side Room, nothing was known. Chen De confessed that he had arrived naturally, as if walking on flat ground. As for how Chen De, a poor laborer and cook, knew the layout of the imperial palace and how he knew the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor would pass by the Shenwu Gate that morning, it was never investigated clearly.

After investigating for only four days, Chen De and his son were both sentenced to death by slow slicing.

For such a major event as assassinating the Emperor, the case was hastily closed after only four days of investigation, which shows there were hidden secrets behind it, but the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor could no longer investigate.

During the Emperor Jiaqing reign, there were twelve palace intrusion cases, large and small. For example, someone found a waist tag and sold steamed buns in the imperial palace for two years. The Empress bought them and said they were good, and only after she told Emperor Jiaqing did the Emperor Jiaqing Emperor fly into a rage.

A revival—making the Great Ming great again—was never easy. Along the way, one had to endure countless trials.

Zhu Zhu Yijun knew this deeply: "When the time comes, heaven and earth work together; when the luck departs, the hero is not free."

Therefore, while the momentum was still there, Zhu Zhu Yijun was willing to do a little more, to let the Great Ming accumulate more capital, so that when the luck departed, it would arrive later, and when it did arrive, it would not have such a malicious impact.

The next morning, before the court deliberation, the Great Ming Emperor summoned the Lady of Loyalty and Obedience (San San Niangzi).

"No need for rites, no need for rites. San San Niangzi, your demeanor remains the same," Zhu Zhu Yijun said, reaching out his hand: "Sit down and speak."

"Your servant was shocked to hear that Your Majesty was unwell, and I have been filled with fear and anxiety. Seeing Your Majesty today with eyes like lightning, a voice like a booming bell, and an aura like a dragon, just as the Grand Secretary said, Your Majesty is protected by heaven and is the one and only master of the world." San San Niangzi kowtowed again. She was not flattering him; she was sincere.

When the Emperor was critically ill, Zhang Zhang Juzheng had said to the cabinet ministers that His Majesty was protected by heaven and would be fine.

At that time, Zhang Zhang Juzheng had already appealed to the gods, Buddhas, and ancestors for protection. In an era where a fever could easily kill a person, His Majesty's infection was indeed extremely dangerous. Even the great physicians of the Dissection Institute had issued a critical condition notice, and the Empress had cried until she could make no sound.

Since he had survived all that, saying the Emperor was the reincarnation of the True Martial Great Emperor had factual support. After all, if even the King of Hell dared not take him, he was naturally the reincarnation of a true god.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not claim to be the chosen one, the destined master, or the reincarnation of the True Martial Great Emperor. This was a non-existent "Anti-Buddhist Decree." The court had never issued such a decree; it was a strange trick created by local areas to resolve contradictions, and it had nothing to do with the Emperor. This was a typical case of wanting to solve a problem while not wanting to take the blame, only making it hard for Pan Pan Jixun and San San Niangzi.

The infamy was borne by Pan Pan Jixun and San San Niangzi.

Zhu Zhu Yijun avoided talking about the reincarnation of the True Martial Great Emperor, but the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Ceremonial had already tipped off San San Niangzi in advance. San San Niangzi was very glad that the court could tacitly allow them to promote the myth of the Emperor, which was already very rare, so San San Niangzi did not take the initiative to talk about the reincarnation of the True Martial Great Emperor. Everyone executed this non-existent Anti-Buddhist Decree with great tacit understanding.

San San Niangzi mainly reported on the progress of livestock farming on the grasslands.

It was only then that Zhu Zhu Yijun discovered he had fallen into a misconception. Hearing San San Niangzi's report, the Emperor learned that the morbidity and mortality rates of livestock in captivity were lower because the living environment of captivity was more stable. Humans could suffer from acclimatization issues, and so could livestock.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had originally thought that livestock in captivity would be more prone to illness, but that was not the case.

The only problem with captivity was that the cost was extremely high, and not every herdsman could afford it, so nomadic herding remained a widely existing mode of production.

"Your servant requests a decree to go to the Dissection Institute to pay a visit to the great physician Pang Zhang Xian. May I have the Institute Judge Wu Jin Lian accompany me?" San San Niangzi stated her request.

"Why does the Lady of Loyalty and Obedience want to go to the Dissection Institute?" Zhu Zhu Yijun asked with great curiosity.

"Imperial Physician Pang needs some people for experiments." San San Niangzi explained the ins and outs of the matter. Pang Zhang Xian had a project in his hands that was urgently needed by the grasslands.

The former Viceroy of Shaanxi, Shi Shi Maohua, had been critically ill and had specifically taken a long detour to the Hetao region, returning to the capital from Guihua. Pang Zhang Xian was his accompanying physician. After returning to the capital, Pang Zhang Xian began a project concerning the fate of the dynasty: the prevention and treatment of smallpox.

Smallpox ravaged the land, sparing neither the noble nor the lowly, the old nor the young. Princes, nobles, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—once infected, everyone was terrified. There was no medicine to cure it, and they could only sit and watch as people died.

For example, the Qing Emperor During Kangxi, nicknamed "Kang the Pockmarked"—During Kangxi was able to become Emperor entirely because smallpox ravaged the land. During Kangxi had survived smallpox and would not get it again, thereby gaining a huge advantage. Even if he was covered in pockmarks, he still became Emperor.

The Great Ming's traditional prevention method, human pox inoculation, had four methods: the pox-clothing method, the pox-paste method, the dry-seed method, and the wet-seed method. However, these four methods had a huge problem: the human mortality rate was extremely high.

Pang Zhang Xian's project was the prevention of smallpox using cowpox.

When he was in Guihua City, Pang Zhang Xian was extremely surprised to find that the milkmaids and butchers on the grasslands rarely had pockmarked faces, while the nobles were all covered in them. This aroused Pang Zhang Xian's curiosity: why were these poor laborers able to avoid smallpox infection?

Soon, Pang Zhang Xian discovered that the reason these girls and butchers did not get sick was simple: they had already had smallpox and had all survived, and they didn't have pockmarked faces. The source of all this was the cowpox on the cows.

"Then let Wu Jin Lian take you to pay a visit." Zhu Zhu Yijun granted San San Niangzi's request and then asked: "Is smallpox on the grasslands also very serious?"

San San Niangzi deliberated repeatedly before saying: "When you go out, you see nothing but white bones covering the plains. On the road, there are starving women holding their children, abandoning them in the grass. Every time the plague ravages, several tribes perish, and they don't even leave behind the names of their tribes."

"Your Majesty, the prevalence of Lamaism on the grasslands is also related to this. Unable to appeal to good doctors, they can only appeal to the gods and Buddhas."

Li Zhi had mentioned more than once that to make people abandon religion, one must abandon the environment that requires religion. Harsh climates, cruel killings, rampant plagues, and a precarious life forced the grassland people to believe in that illusory "other shore," pinning all their hopes on the other shore and the afterlife.

"Your Majesty is a wise master. Your hand points to the grasslands, and heavenly soldiers and generals save the border people from fire and water; Your Majesty is the sun in the sky, and all things grow under Your Majesty's protection." San San Niangzi used an extremely exaggerated tone and flattering language to state a fact on the grasslands: the Emperor's lofty status in the hearts of the grassland people.

San San Niangzi and Pan Pan Jixun were not without basis when they thought of using the reincarnation of the True Martial Great Emperor to replace the distorted faith of Lamaism; it was because His Majesty enjoyed widespread support on the grasslands.

Perhaps His Majesty, as a heaven-born noble, did not even know himself what it meant to the grassland people to be able to eliminate poverty, disease, war, and other unstable factors, and to bring a stable life to the grasslands.

In short, he was their second parent.

Zhu Zhu Yijun truly did not know that his civilizing of the grasslands was primarily for the coal of Shengzhou and the gold, silver, copper, and iron of Womagang. It was driven by profit. The Great Ming needed more coal—to ignite coal, to ignite the process of industrialization, and to promote the realization of a commodity economy.

After San San Niangzi left, Zhang Zhang Juzheng reported on the Ministry of Personnel's deliberation regarding the addition of "Zhongzhi" and "Congshishi" assistant officials for the commanderies of a million people. The Ministry of Personnel had passed it. The chaos caused by Shen Shen Shixing's secretary, Dong Wei, also had to be responded to. They were truly too busy, mainly because the population being governed was simply too large.

Only three commanderies met the requirement of a million people: Beiya, Nanya, and Songjiang Prefecture. Others, such as Guangzhou Prefecture, Zhangzhou, Ningbo, and Mizhou, would also need to add "Zhongzhi" officials to assist within a few years.

Zhu Zhu Yijun specifically asked the Ministry of Revenue about the situation of smallpox ravaging the Great Ming. The situation in the Great Ming was serious, but not entirely so. For example, in the eighth year of Emperor Wanli, smallpox broke out in Datong, with nine out of ten households sick, and families of several people dying one after another upon infection, with entire households unable to get up; for example, in the ninth year of Emperor Wanli, a plague broke out in Shaanxi, where seeing it meant death, and there were countless cases of entire households being wiped out, leading to the sealing of city gates to prevent the spread of the disease.

"Across the four seas and eight directions, reaching the sky and the ends of the earth, bringing the people to longevity and health, and summoning harmony to the heavens and the earth." The Minister of Rites, Wan Wan Shihe, repeated the goal set for the Dissection Institute when His Majesty established it.

It was now being realized step by step. If cowpox was truly useful, even if there was only a glimmer of hope, it would be a benevolent act for countless living beings.

San San Niangzi walked into the Dissection Institute under the guidance of Institute Judge Wu Jin Lian, but she did not see Pang Zhang Xian; she only saw Li Li Shizhen and Chen Chen Shigong.

The cowpox experiment was actually nearing its end. Pang Zhang Xian, as the Great Physician of the Dissection Institute and a disciple of Li Li Shizhen, was very responsible for his experiments. After hundreds of animal experiments and experiments on many criminals sentenced to slow slicing in the Dissection Institute, Pang Zhang Xian had tested it on himself. He had inoculated cowpox onto his own arm and was now in a fifteen-day observation period.

Therefore, San San Niangzi could not see Pang Zhang Xian.

"This is extremely dangerous," San San Niangzi said in disbelief. "The Dissection Institute has many specimens. These people are guilty of heinous crimes and are already sentenced to slow slicing; they are no longer fit to be human. Why not use them for experiments?!"

"It has already been verified. Physician Pang is doing this to prove it himself. Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and collapsed upon encountering the gut-wrenching grass. The sages of old had their ways, so how can later disciples let the sages be shamed? 'If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening,'" Li Li Shizhen said with great confidence. "Moreover, it has been verified on many criminals in the Dissection Institute, and there are no problems. In fact, it is not as dangerous as you imagine."

It had already been verified through animal experiments and human trials. Pang Zhang Xian's "proving the Dao" was mainly to prove it himself and also to prevent accidents. Researching smallpox was a very dangerous thing, and one could only continue the research after becoming immune to smallpox.

"Fine." San San Niangzi spread her hands. As a Great Physician with no worries about food or clothing, there was actually no need to risk his life like this. Perhaps, in the hearts of these great physicians, there was also an "other shore"—a Great Harmony world without disease.

The Great Ming Emperor's various decisions had already begun to bear fruit. Once the seeds hit the ground, they would take root, sprout, and grow into towering trees.

After the Great Ming Emperor recovered his health, he became busy again. He issued an imperial decree to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office asking for a strategy, but Xu Wei had no time to respond.

Because the Nagasaki Garrison Command and the Osaka Bay Garrison Battalion had sent definitive news: the retainer of Oda Nobunaga, Kuki Yoshitaka of the Kumano Navy, had led his entire navy out of the Kumano Beach without any orders.

And the reports from the coastal defense inspectors showed that Kuki Yoshitaka was not leading the Kumano Navy to fight Mōri Terumoto, but was heading straight for Nagasaki, with the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office as his target!

Oda Nobunaga was furious. This was a rogue action by the navy!

Kuki Yoshitaka was the most radical among Oda Nobunaga's retainers. When Oda Nobunaga transitioned from "Ruler of the Realm" to "Shogun," Kuki Yoshitaka had already expressed his dissatisfaction and returned to the Kumano Beach, refusing to come out. When Oda Nobunaga submitted to the Great Ming and signed the Seventeen Articles, Kuki Yoshitaka publicly stated after getting drunk that Oda Nobunaga was a traitor and a lackey of the Great Ming.

And now, after learning that the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office had further formulated an even harsher "Silver and Sulfur Treaty," Kuki Yoshitaka could finally bear it no longer and headed toward the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office.

The Nagasaki Garrison Commander, Li Li Chengli, said with a solemn face: "The Kumano Thirteen Armies led by Kuki Yoshitaka have a total of seven ironclad ships. They are six zhang and three chi long, and three zhang and six chi wide—a type of wide ship that can only sail in coastal waters and relies on human power. Each ship has 500 sailors, totaling 3,500 men for the seven ironclad ships."

"There are another 530 large and small ships, totaling nearly ten thousand sailors, mainly armed with short and long weapons and bows and arrows. There are only a few firearms, but they are coming aggressively."

"In terms of hydrology, we do not know as much as the Japanese. I am afraid it will be very difficult to block their landing. This is the Japanese advantage—mobility and local knowledge. They know Kyushu better than we do."

"And our advantage is that we have many firearms and strong fortifications to defend. We only need to hold the camps around Nagasaki and wait for the Great Ming Navy to come to our aid."

Finding the enemy's ships in the vast ocean was extremely difficult. This was not something that coastal defense inspectors could search for using manpower. The enemy would definitely land on Kyushu and then advance toward Nagasaki. A great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

The response strategy of the Nagasaki Commander, Li Li Chengli, was actually the tactics of the Portuguese and Spanish: defend the city with strong fortifications and heavy artillery, wait for reinforcements to arrive, line up and shoot, repel the enemy, and continue colonial rule.

These tactics were extremely useful in the Age of Discovery—it was just bullying you for not having siege weapons. These tactics were so good that the Great Ming, despite having the advantage of heaven, earth, and man, still took two and a half years to gnaw through the Strait of Malacca and establish the Old Port Viceroy's Office.

The Nagasaki camps plus the city of Nagasaki would be enough for the Japanese navy to gnaw on for two and a half years.

"This is Oda Nobunaga's resistance, using the pretext of a rogue navy," Xu Wei said with a furrowed brow. "It comes just in time!"