Chapter 708

"How long does General Qi think this battle will last?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously about Qi Jiguang's prediction for the course of the war.

Qi Jiguang exhaled a breath of turbid air and said, "If the war takes place in Korea, it will end in about three to five years. If we are to attack the Japanese mainland, this battle will take about twenty years or more."

Wars of annihilation are often this protracted. Qi Jiguang could not deceive the Emperor into making a wrong decision; the Great Ming must be prepared for a long-term war. The end of military operations does not represent the end of the war.

The Great Ming fought against Anda Khan for a full twenty-five years, and starting from the sixth year of Wanli, they fought for another three years.

"What if we use the plague? General Qi knows that the Great Ming has the cowpox method to prevent smallpox," Zhu Yijun said quite calmly.

Only when the Secretariat Drafter at this location breathed a sigh of relief—the Secretariat Drafter had diarrhea today; when Qi Jiguang entered the door, the Secretariat Drafter had gone to the latrine. Regarding major affairs of state, the Secretariat Drafter did not want to get too deeply involved. When the time came, he only needed to fill in the details in the *Wanli Diary* and vigorously play up His Majesty's brilliance and martial prowess.

Knowing too much is often not a good thing.

Qi Jiguang and Li Rusong stared at His Majesty the Emperor with somewhat dull eyes; the two battle-hardened generals were both momentarily at a loss for how to answer.

In the minds of the two generals, His Majesty was benevolent and kind, and truly very, very good to the soldiers. Although His Majesty the Emperor had killed countless people, most of the time, these people deserved to die; there had never been an unjust soul under His Majesty's hand.

They had never imagined that one day, such cruel words could come out of His Majesty the Emperor's mouth.

Guns, bacteria, steel, and silver—these four things ran through the so-called Age of Discovery.

"I have heard that when the Mongols conquered, encountering high walls and large cities that could not be taken for a long time, they would throw plague-stricken people and the items they used into the city, triggering a plague. No matter what kind of city it was, it could be broken. I have also heard that the red-haired barbarians in Peru and Mexico specifically sold blankets that smallpox patients had lain on to the natives, triggering a plague and reducing the combined strength of the resistance."

"General Qi, what others can do, the Great Ming can also do." Zhu Yijun gave his own reasons.

Bacteria and viruses can also become weapons, especially smallpox. The Great Ming is actively promoting the inoculation of the cowpox method, and wealthy merchants everywhere, in order to curry favor with His Majesty the Emperor, are even willing to spend silver to promote the benefits of the cowpox method.

When the Indians died, they were wrapped in blankets sold by the colonists. Having just died, they did not know that the blankets that made them feel warm were the relics of smallpox patients, remaining infected with the virus, infecting the tribe, consuming their vital strength. In the New World, smallpox spread everywhere through wind, rain, droplets, rivers, rats, and vultures, causing deaths, destroying city after city, country after country, and finally disintegrating civilizations.

As for smallpox weapons, the Great Ming would not be backlashed. Firstly, they possessed the immunity wall of cowpox, and secondly, they had a physical wall. All barbarians coming to the Great Ming lived in the City of Ten Thousand Nations and were not allowed to move freely. Zhu Yijun had absolutely no need to worry about a smallpox boomerang.

"Your subject thinks it is inappropriate. What the barbarians can do, the Great Ming truly cannot do," Qi Jiguang said very frankly. "Your Majesty, weapons are inauspicious instruments, not the instruments of a gentleman; they are used only when there is no other choice. The reason barbarians are barbarians is because they fear power but do not cherish virtue. The reason the Great Ming is the Great Ming is because it pacifies the world with virtue."

Qi Jiguang, who had been killing people his whole life, was preaching the way of benevolence and forgiveness.

His Majesty was truly too violent.

"According to the research of the Dissection Institute, smallpox can resist dryness and low temperatures. It can survive for up to a year and a half on scabs, dust, and clothing. For a year and a half, it can still infect others." Zhu Yijun brought out the research report from the Dissection Institute. This was originally submitted to the Emperor by Pang Xian so that the Emperor would attach importance to its dangers, but now it was being used by Zhu Yijun to argue for its possibility as a weapon.

Pang Xian, who researched and wrote the *Treatise on Cowpox* and devoted his life to smallpox prevention, might become the greatest killer of the Wanli era. Because of Pang Xian's research, the Great Ming Emperor could use this weapon unscrupulously to eliminate anyone who refused to submit, completely erasing them from the map.

"Your Majesty, your subject thinks it is completely unnecessary; the situation has not yet deteriorated to this extent." Qi Jiguang remained very insistent. He always believed that His Majesty the Emperor should follow the Great Way and should not take such crooked paths.

The Emperor cannot do evil; this question had already been repeatedly argued as early as the pre-Qin period. The *Book of Documents, Great Plan* says: "The Son of Heaven is the parent of the people, and as such, is the king of the world. He should not do evil, but follow the path of the king."

If the Emperor actively does evil, as an existence looked up to by billions, how can he be a model for the world with such petty behavior? The blame for the world losing its way is borne by His Majesty, while the price of the world losing its way is borne by the myriad people.

Annihilating Japan is of course important, but if the Great Ming loses its way because of this, the loss will outweigh the gain. Qi Jiguang did not agree with this matter; he felt that it should not be done by His Majesty.

Zhu Yijun did not argue with Qi Jiguang, but instead revealed a warm smile and said, "Indeed, the situation has not yet deteriorated to the point where such weapons need to be activated. If the situation does deteriorate, I will find a way to weaken Japan's strength at any cost."

Zhu Yijun had only one view on war: win by any means necessary. If the Great Ming army really lost, the Japanese pirates should not think about winning either.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Qi Jiguang bowed his head again to accept the order.

After leaving the Tonghe Palace, Qi Jiguang and Li Rusong walked for a long time. When they reached a quiet place, Li Rusong suddenly asked, "General Qi, did you persuade His Majesty?"

Li Rusong felt something was wrong; His Majesty had agreed too smoothly. Had His Majesty really taken Qi Jiguang's remonstrance to heart?

"Yes, His Majesty accepted my good words and approved of my remonstrance. When the situation is not particularly critical, he will not use such means," Qi Jiguang said with a smile. "Don't think so much. His Majesty is a holy and wise monarch. We should think about how to win; otherwise, if we lose, His Majesty will have to use inauspicious instruments."

"Winning a battle is simple!" Li Rusong said with a loud laugh. "Killing Japanese pirates is much simpler than the intrigue and deceit in the imperial court!"

Li Rusong believed Qi Jiguang's words very much, put down the worries in his heart, and actively prepared for the conquest.

Qi Jiguang actually knew very clearly that he had not really persuaded His Majesty, nor did he intend to persuade His Majesty to follow the way of benevolence and forgiveness; that was not his duty. From the beginning, his remonstrance to His Majesty was actually to advise His Majesty that such dirty means did not need to be carried out by his own hands, nor was it necessary to leave handles for others.

His Majesty needed to maintain the persona of a holy monarch; such cruel words should not be spoken in the future.

One only needed to write the method in the *Records of Foreign Countries*, loudly denounce the barbarian behavior of the red-haired barbarians, and the Great Ming merchants—who had a low moral advantage, were profit-seeking, and had no moral burden—would use it themselves once they knew.

The *Records of Foreign Countries* were bestsellers in the Great Ming; almost every family of maritime merchants had a copy.

Obviously, His Majesty had understood Qi Jiguang's remonstrance. Zhu Yijun was very good at loudly opposing such base methods on the surface while secretly promoting them.

Just as Li Rusong said, the Japanese were truly enjoying a great blessing to have encountered His Majesty the Emperor.

The famine finally made the Japanese *daimyo* willing to sit down and discuss where Japan was headed. In order to physically consume the samurai class and end the era of the warring *daimyo*, the *daimyo* finally agreed to attack Korea. The high wall used by the Great Ming to blockade Japan opened a door. Located at the Shymata military port on Tsushima Island, the Great Ming army chose to withdraw, clearing the way for Oda Nobunaga to attack Korea.

Korea originally felt that with the Great Ming as their father, they could sleep soundly. A group of Japanese dwarfs with an average height of four feet could never take the Shymata military port. But with the withdrawal of the Shymata army, Korea was completely panicked and rushed to the Great Ming to ask for help.

And the Great Ming Emperor was actively preparing to fight in Korea. The Great Ming army, equipped with countless firearms, was preparing to set out for Liaodong in three months.

Everything was happening in an orderly manner. The Great Ming and Japan both had their own goals, while the Korean envoys Li Houbai and Li Shunchen were sweating with anxiety.

"You've forgotten all about 'serving the great and befriending neighbors'! Now that we've come to the Great Ming, there isn't a single minister who can speak to us. We have no idea about the Great Ming court's decisions or movements, and we don't know His Majesty's thoughts. The urgent task now is to seek the Great Ming Emperor's help. You aren't thinking about how to do that, but are drinking here instead!" Li Shunchen snatched the wine pot from Li Houbai and said sternly.

Li Houbai was sitting under a big tree in the Bureau of Interpreters, his hair completely disheveled, sitting on the ground. Since arriving at the Great Ming, he had been drinking heavily all day and hadn't gone out to move around at all, not even seeking help anywhere. Li Shunchen couldn't stand it and came over to lecture him.

"Otherwise, what can you do? The Great Ming has closed its doors, and we don't even have a place to kowtow! If I could get even a little bit of news, I'd be willing to kowtow until my head broke! Now, there isn't even a place to kowtow!" Li Houbai lay back, lay directly on the ground, and looked at the towering tree in the Bureau of Interpreters with hollow eyes, saying, "In the past, when I came to the Great Ming, I always stayed at the Huitong Hall. This meant the Great Ming treated us as their own."

"Now, we are staying at the Bureau of Interpreters."

The Bureau of Interpreters and the Huitong Hall were very close, but a small courtyard wall was a world of difference. The Great Ming had already seen through Korea's true face.

Li Shunchen was stunned for a long, long time. He sat down with Li Houbai, grabbed the wine pot directly, took a fierce gulp, and said through gritted teeth, "Serving the great and befriending neighbors, serving the great and befriending neighbors—this is the ancestral teaching! Since Anda Khan invaded, the scholars and officials in the court have all looked down on the Great Ming and said strange things. Now it's good; the Great Ming has recovered its strength, the Japanese pirates have come, and the Great Ming refuses to help."

"His Majesty must have heard those strange things!"

Li Shunchen couldn't understand the wind in the Korean court. The ancestral laws were very clear: the biggest thing was to be on good terms with the Great Ming. If the Great Ming had a bite to eat, Korea would have a mouthful of soup. That's how it had been for so many years. As a result, when the news of Anda Khan invading the capital region reached Korea, the scholars at the Korean Sungkyunkwan were all cheering and mocking the Great Ming's lax military preparations, as if Korea wouldn't be the same.

Now it's good; the Japanese pirates have come.

"The Great Ming court has always known about those things, they just didn't care," Li Houbai said, lying on the ground, watching the paulownia leaves drift down, full of mockery. "It wasn't just after Anda Khan's invasion. Before that, those low-class rumors about the Great Ming Wu Xun were all fabricated by the Great Ming envoys sent to us. Rumors like Wu Xun liking prostitutes, or forcing himself on women wherever he went—they tried their best to portray Wu Xun as someone who committed all kinds of evil, didn't observe etiquette, bullied men and women, and was bellicose."

"It seems like mocking the Great Ming gives them a kind of pathological sense of pride."

"Does the Great Ming really not know at all?"

The Great Ming knew very well; the officials of the Court of Ceremonial even admonished the Korean envoys more than once not to talk nonsense.

The more they were admonished, the more the Korean scholars acted as if they had caught a sore spot, the more they wanted to talk, the more they wanted to fabricate. They fabricated Wu Xun, fabricated Emperor Shizong, and now they were starting to fabricate His Majesty.

An emperor who could personally lead troops to charge in Xuangfu and repel the Little Prince, who never dared to invade again—how absurd could such a person be? But the envoys sent by Korea to the Great Ming fabricated with all their might. These rumors flowed into the Great Ming, underwent secondary processing, and made Wu Xun seem even more absurd.

"Originally, it was all just a war of words; it would have been fine if it had been cleared up. But the Great Ming Emperor wanted the King to go to the court to plead guilty, and the King wanted to form a mutual defense alliance instead. He really lost his mind," Li Houbai tilted his head and looked at Li Shunchen, saying, "You tell me, what should I do? What can I do!"

"A small country that does not humble itself, has little strength but does not fear the strong, is rude and insults a large neighbor, and is greedy and stubborn in its diplomacy—such a country can perish."

"Forget it, let's drink." Li Shunchen sighed, took another fierce gulp, and then handed over the wine pot. He had originally wanted to persuade Li Houbai to pull himself together and think of a way, but now Li Shunchen was also desperate and began to drink with Li Houbai.

Just as Li Houbai said, now there wasn't even a place to kowtow. They had occupied all four of those points. It was just that the Great Ming, out of respect for ancestral laws, considered Korea a country not to be conquered and didn't hold them strictly accountable. Otherwise, the Japanese pirates wouldn't have been the first to enter Korea.

After arriving at the Great Ming, Li Shunchen had actually figured it out to some extent. The Great Ming Emperor's southern inspection, Li Chengliang's attendance, and Wang Rulong's entry into Liaodong—this series of actions were all fishing. That bullshit mutual defense alliance, once rashly attacked, would inevitably bring down the Emperor's thunderous wrath.

Chen Xuehui, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, sent a clerk to see Li Houbai and Li Shunchen, asking them to go to the Court of Ceremonial to discuss the Japanese pirates' attack on Korea, only to see two drunks.

The clerk had no choice but to report truthfully, which made Chen Xuehui fly into a great rage.

This concerned the survival of Korea. The Great Ming was busy and dizzy; the Emperor was in court discussions, the Capital Battalion was preparing, and even the old man Li Chengliang intended to return to Liaodong. This huge Great Ming war machine was turning rapidly, and yet the Korean envoys were drinking heavily!

Early the next morning, Li Houbai and Li Shunchen sobered up, bathed, changed their clothes, and were summoned to the Court of Ceremonial by the clerk of the Ministry of Rites.

"It is your Korea that is being invaded! Not the Great Ming! I called you here to discuss matters yesterday, and you two were dead drunk! It's simply absurd!" Chen Xuehui was incomparably angry and said sternly, "If you don't want to save Korea, then get out! Don't be an eyesore here!"

Chen Xuehui was a traditional Confucian scholar. Being so furious and losing his composure like this meant he was completely angered.

"Oda Nobunaga sent Zong Yoshitomo, the lord of Tsushima Island, to urge the King of Korea to go to Kyoto to pay homage, to show submission, otherwise he would be punished. This is just an excuse to declare war." Chen Xuehui handed a military dispatch to Li Shunchen. He also saw that Li Houbai had completely lost his spirit, and it was this Li Shunchen who still had some sense.

Paying homage meant letting the King of Korea go to Kyoto to see the Japanese Emperor. This kind of homage was a sign of complete submission, the kind where one wouldn't return. If he didn't go, Japan would attack.

"Vice Minister Chen, please listen! My King will absolutely not go to pay homage. This isn't paying homage at all; it's clearly going to one's death."

"Moreover, the Japanese pirates aren't attacking our Korea at all; they are clearly attacking the Great Ming!" Li Shunchen finally met a minister in the court and immediately took out a memorial and presented it very respectfully, saying, "This isn't what I said; this is what Oda Nobunaga said!"

"Japan is trying to borrow the way through Korea to attack the Great Ming. Their wolfish ambition is clearly revealed. I ask Vice Minister Chen to see clearly."

No matter what, he had to ask for the Great Ming's heavenly troops to fight in Korea. Korea absolutely couldn't hold out on its own! Li Shunchen knew Korea's military strength very well; a group of flowery, showy warriors was no match for the Japanese pirates at all.

Chen Xuehui opened the memorial, looked at it for a long time, and then said, "Is there any physical evidence?"

After Oda Nobunaga took his sword to Kyoto, he told all his retainers about his grand ambition: "Sweep across the Ming country, and unite the three countries into one."

Uniting the three countries into one was Oda Nobunaga's slogan for his martial rule of the world from beginning to end. Unifying Japan wasn't enough, and annexing Korea wasn't enough. Only by sweeping across the Great Ming and uniting the three countries into one could it be considered martial rule of the world.

After the Great Ming successively defeated the Japanese pirates of Kyushu in Ryukyu and Nagasaki, and established the Nagasaki Viceroyalty and the Nagasaki Regional Military Commission, this slogan was silenced, and no one talked about it anymore.

"There is the state letter from the communication envoys as proof!" Li Shunchen was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately bowed his head, saying, "The state letter has the three characters 'Tang Guo Qi' which can serve as proof. Japan calls the Great Ming 'Tang Guo'. 'Tang Guo Qi' means entering Tang. I have a lot of written evidence and physical evidence. I ask Vice Minister Chen to report it to His Majesty."

Li Shunchen had no intention of deceiving the Great Ming. Korea and Japan had communication envoys traveling back and forth, which had existed since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The communication envoys went to Japan, saw it with their own eyes, and left behind written evidence. The state letter only had the three characters "Tang Guo Qi," but in the state letters that went back and forth, there were many places that mentioned borrowing the way through Korea to attack the Great Ming.

"Entering Tang?" When Chen Xuehui heard this term for the first time, he was incomparably surprised. He asked suspiciously, "What does it mean?"

It wasn't that Chen Xuehui was uneducated and couldn't understand the meaning of "Entering Tang," but that he couldn't believe that the Japanese pirates were so bold and heaven-defying. The Great Ming hadn't even planned to annihilate Japan, yet Japan was planning to annihilate the Great Ming?

In this world, is there no reason to be spoken of!

"Oda Nobunaga had a retainer named Hashiba Hideyoshi. In a letter to his wife, Nene, there was a sentence: 'In my lifetime, I will surely add the Tang land to my territory.' Annexing the Great Ming into Japan's territory is 'Entering Tang'." Li Shunchen immediately explained the meaning of the two characters "Entering Tang."

"Entering Tang" had a clear explanation. It was clearly explained by Oda Nobunaga's retainer, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was the later Toyotomi Hideyoshi: annihilating the Great Ming and annexing its territory was "Entering Tang."

The Japanese pirates' ambition for the Central Plains had existed since ancient times.

"The Japanese pirates invading Korea isn't just about fighting Korea, but about attacking the Great Ming!" Li Shunchen tried his best to pull the Great Ming onto the chariot, and he did it openly and aboveboard. He continued, "I once secretly heard in Korea that Oda Nobunaga's sister, Oichi, is in the Great Ming. You only need to ask to know!"

"I will naturally ask," Chen Xuehui nodded and said.

The Great Ming naturally knew something about Japan's wolfish ambition, but they never expected that Japan would be so greedy that it would try to swallow an elephant, wanting to annex the Great Ming. It simply opened Chen Xuehui's eyes.

"This time, Japan has assembled a force of more than 306,000 people, of which 158,000 are ground troops. Does it take so many people to fight Korea? They are aiming for the Great Ming," Li Shunchen looked left and right and said in a low voice.

"How could I not know?" Li Houbai asked in surprise. Li Shunchen actually knew the number of Japanese pirates so clearly!

Li Shunchen said straightforwardly, "I have contacts with Mouri Terumoto. The Mouri family alone dispatched 30,000 samurai. Moreover, Oda Nobunaga promised that for every soldier in the campaign, he would give two *koku* of rice, and their wives would be given food separately. The wives of the servants employed in the military camp would also be given food without exception."

"In other words, for this conquest, every Japanese pirate can receive two salaries, their wives are given salaries, and the wives of the servants are also given food. This is a desperate gamble."

"Where did Oda Nobunaga get so much food? It's nothing more than burning, killing, and looting once he enters Korea!"

Chen Xuehui looked at Li Shunchen, examined him carefully, and said, "It's rare for Korea to have a sensible person who explains the situation so clearly. Take my visiting card, go to the West Earth City camp, pay a visit to General Qi and Regional Commander Li, and tell them everything you know."

Chen Xuehui wrote a visiting card so that Li Shunchen would have a way to see the Great Ming generals and participate in the formulation of the battle plan.

As for whether the information provided by Li Shunchen had any value, General Qi would have to take a look. He, Chen Xuehui, didn't know much about military affairs, so he would just let General Qi judge it.

"Thank you, Vice Minister Chen!" Li Shunchen was finally able to meet General Qi. Leaving Li Houbai alone to be scolded, Li Shunchen hurried to the North Camp to see Qi Jiguang and Li Rusong.

When Qi Jiguang heard that there was a new situation, he immediately had Li Shunchen brought to the Wu Ying Tower, and His Majesty, who had just inspected the troops and horses, was right inside the Wu Ying Tower.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live." Li Shunchen knelt as soon as he entered. The little eunuch in front of the door had already told him that His Majesty had summoned him.

"No need for formalities. The information you provided is very useful," Zhu Yijun said with a smile. "I heard that you were frustrated in Korea, had your status as a military graduate stripped, and joined the army as a commoner. Is this true?"

"Your Majesty sees clearly. That such a trivial matter concerning a lowly person would actually trouble Your Majesty makes your subject feel uneasy and anxious," Li Shunchen said hurriedly. He was at odds with his immediate superior, was sent to die by his immediate superior many times, and was even framed and stripped of his status. His Majesty actually knew all these small matters. It was clear that His Majesty was also aware of the nonsense spoken by the Korean scholars.

"Sit, sit." Zhu Yijun signaled for Li Shunchen to sit down. A general who could kill Japanese pirates was a good general. Anyone who could kill Japanese pirates would be favored by Zhu Yijun, even if Li Shunchen was Korean.

Li Shunchen explained all the information he knew about Japan clearly and thoroughly, especially the wind of "Entering Tang" that was a consensus in Japan.

"A tiny country, ending up in a dead end on an island, their ambition to plot against the Great Ming could no longer be hidden after the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty," Li Shunchen said in summary.

"After Yashan, there is no China"—this was the wind first blown by the Japanese scholars. Their purpose in saying this was the same as calling the Great Ming "Tang Guo"—it was to refuse to acknowledge the Great Ming as the master of the Central Plains, to deny the legitimacy of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, so that Japan, which claimed to inherit Tang, could openly declare it.

Not only did they want to declare it, but now Japan was preparing to put it into practice.

"Do they really have 300,000 samurai marching on Korea?" Zhu Yijun asked with a furrowed brow.

"Inside and outside Japan, for every hundred households, ten sailors and ten foot soldiers are dispatched, divided into nine routes, totaling 306,000 people. I have contacts with Mouri Terumoto, and he tried to persuade me to serve the Japanese pirates. I thought about it over and over and came to the Great Ming," Li Shunchen didn't dare to say whether it was true or false, but this was what Mouri Terumoto had told him through his people, and the purpose was to persuade him to surrender.

Whether to be a dog for the Japanese pirates or a dog for the Great Ming, Li Shunchen felt that being a dog for the Great Ming was more appropriate.

Thirty thousand against forty thousand—the advantage is not on my side.

Zhu Yijun underestimated Japan's determination to gamble with its national destiny. Japan had a total population of 8.5 million at most. If you remove the old, weak, women, and children, the number of adult males would be 700,000 at most. This had pulled out an army of 300,000.

Taking the Great Ming as an example, the Great Ming claimed to have two million soldiers, but in fact, they were all farming. The farmers were greater than the military attribute. The field army that could be pulled out to fight outside the gate was only 100,000.

Zhu Yijun was not a gambler; he didn't understand the art of going all-in. Japan had been like this since ancient times; it liked to go all-in.

"General Qi, should we increase the troops?" Zhu Yijun felt that the Great Ming's preparations were somewhat insufficient. If 40,000 elite Capital Battalion soldiers were besieged by 300,000 people, there would probably be real danger.

"Your Majesty, your subject does not think it is necessary to increase the troops. One Han can handle ten Japanese," Qi Jiguang said with a smile. "Your Majesty, your subject has been fighting the Japanese pirates for so many years. I have a count of their strength in my heart. Fighting a war isn't something you win just by having more people."

If one could win just by having more people, could Anda Khan still have invaded the capital region?

When Qi Jiguang led 3,000 infantry, one Han could handle ten Japanese. Now, under His Majesty's tireless efforts to strengthen the army and constantly increase firearms, it might be possible for one Han to handle twenty or thirty Japanese.

The Great Ming's firearms were not only numerous and strong, but also well-matched, with heavy firepower and individual firepower advancing side by side. Qi Jiguang felt that 40,000 Capital Battalion soldiers had already given the Japanese pirates enough face. His Majesty's 100,000 Capital Battalion soldiers were aimed at re-plowing the Great Ming's preparations, not to mention there was naval support.

"Your Majesty, if there are more people, the pressure on logistics will be too great. The roads in Korea cannot be compared with the Great Ming. Your subject thinks 40,000 is neither too many nor too few, just right," Qi Jiguang added his opinion. If there were more people, the logistical pressure would increase.

"Then let it be as General Qi says." Zhu Yijun nodded. When necessary, he would poison them. On the matter of killing Japanese pirates, Zhu Yijun had no moral burden.

"Is Korea unable to provide food and grass?" Zhu Yijun looked at Li Shunchen and asked the most concerning question.

Soldiers and horses move, but food and grass go first. The importance of food and grass is self-evident. The Great Ming would suffer too much loss if it had to transport food and grass from the hinterland.

Li Shunchen sighed helplessly and said, "Actually, they have plenty of surplus strength and can provide sufficient food and grass. 40,000 elite soldiers and 20,000 troops are not many. However, in the domestic court, from the King to the ministers, no one is willing to provide this food and grass."

At the time point of November in the 13th year of Wanli, Korea had about 17 million people, more than twice that of Japan. But the King of Korea never felt that he could win against Japan from beginning to end. Before it even started, he ran to the Great Ming to ask for help, and even refused to provide food and grass.

There were many reasons, but in the final analysis, it was because he felt that he could get the heavenly troops even without providing food and grass.