Chapter 158 Spending 700 to attack Japan, we, Lao Zhu, are rich! ! (Please subscribe!!)
"Japanese banditry along the southeastern coast has troubled me for many years in the Ming Dynasty. The Japanese pirates are so arrogant. I have long had the idea of solving this matter. Unfortunately, I lacked financial resources before. However, now that the Ming Dynasty's treasury is slightly more abundant, and the Northern Expedition has been a success, it is time to solve this matter! "
"My dear friends, if you have any good suggestions, just say them!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile.
Even though Zhu Yuanzhang was smiling, his eyes kept scanning Wanwan's face, and he could see the expressions of almost every official at this moment.
Those officials who frowned/showed dissatisfaction were naturally kept in mind by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he would let Jin Yiwei investigate them carefully when the time came.
Li Shanchang looked clear, as if he had guessed Zhu Yuanzhang's plan.
"Your Majesty, have you really decided to deal with Japan?"
Li Shanchang asked loudly.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "You are not joking. Besides, I have killed this Japanese envoy, so I will sacrifice the flag in advance and cross the sea to conquer Japan. There is no need to discuss this matter!"
"What you have to do is help me think of a complete solution!"
Hearing that Zhu Yuanzhang was so determined, the officials also understood that this must be done.
"Your Majesty, if we only want to eliminate Japanese pirates/pirates at sea, it is easy to say that we can just mobilize our various naval forces to go to sea. However, if we want to conquer the Japanese island, the difficulty is no less difficult than the Northern Expedition!"
"Yes, once we take action against Japan, our Ming Dynasty will fight on two fronts. The road defense line of nearly ten thousand miles in the north and the coastal defense line of nearly ten thousand miles on the southeast coast will bear huge pressure, and the finally stable situation will become turbulent."
"When thinking about capturing Japan, you can refer to Kublai Khan's Eastern Expedition of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the naval battle between the Tang Dynasty and Japan. The weather will be the most important factor here."
"In terms of comprehensive strength, our Ming Dynasty is naturally far stronger than Japan, but in terms of naval strength, we are not sure of victory."
"I heard that Japan is not unified now, but is divided into Southern and Northern Dynasties. Maybe we should take advantage of this."
The palace officials, both civil and military generals, were having a heated discussion at this moment, and many generals were even more excited. As long as there was a war, there would be military industry, and the generals represented by Lan Yu were the most active at the moment.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very satisfied after listening to the discussions among the officials, and immediately said: "This time in the expedition to Japan, the outcome must be decided in one battle, so it is important to be fully prepared."
"Guo Zi."
"The minister is here."
"How much money does the treasury have now?"
Guo Zilang said loudly: "Back to Your Majesty, there are now a total of 780 taels of silver in the account of the Ministry of Accounts. This is mainly from the stamp duty paid by the Yong'an Prefecture Exchange/Yong'an Prefecture's donation/Yong'an Prefecture's corvee expenses, etc., and this year The autumn taxes will soon go into the treasury, and after excluding expenses, there will be about fifteen million taels of silver in the end."
"Haha, is it possible that the treasury has so much surplus!" Zhu Yuanzhang said happily. Although most of it depends on Yong'an Mansion, he is still rich, isn't it? This is a rare battle of wealth! Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang's internal funds now number in the millions. In a word, he now has plenty of money! "In this way, the Ministry of Household Affairs will transfer 500 million taels, and then take out 200 million taels from my internal funds, for a total of 700 million taels as military expenses for this Eastern Expedition!"
"I am ordering the southeastern coastal provinces to train their troops and prepare for war, with the local navy as the core, and the shipyards in various places will be put into operation for me to build ships and equipment!"
"The Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Industry all take action!"
"Yes!"
Guo Zi and officials from the Ministry of War and Ministry of Household Affairs responded quickly.
Next, the court discussed the details of the Eastern Expedition. These things will eventually be compiled into detailed rules, and the entire Eastern Expedition plan will be completed.
Due to the discussion about the Eastern Expedition, the morning court meeting was an hour later than before. After the morning court meeting, Zhu Yuanzhang even called Li Shanchang, Guo Zi, Lu Chang, Lan Yu and other civil and military ministers to the Hall of Supreme Harmony for discussion. The discussion here is more detailed, involving troop deployment dates/troop allocations, etc.
Prime Minister's House.
Although there were two beautiful women beside him who were rubbing his shoulders and legs, Hu Weiyong's expression was quite ugly.
After what happened yesterday, Hu Weiyong felt even more unsafe, fearing that one day Zhu Yuanzhang would kill him just like he did with the Japanese envoy.
The reason why he took sick leave was to express his softness to Zhu Yuanzhang. Of course, this was just superficial. Hu Weiyong also did this to stabilize Zhu Yuanzhang so that he could come up with a solution to the problem during this period.
But now the Japanese envoy has been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Ashikaga Naoyoshi has also fallen into the hands of Ouyang Lun. His contact with Japan is almost severed. There are still some Japanese spies in the capital, but these people are hiding now. Follow him, after all, Ruyao followed him into the palace and was killed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
On the one hand, there was Zhu Yuanzhang's bloody warning, and on the other hand, he lost contact with Japan, an important ally.
Is it necessary to send someone to Japan in person? But the situation is likely to undergo earth-shaking changes, and it will be too late! Just when Hu Weiyong was anxious, his servants hurriedly came to report.
"Prime Minister, Master Chen Ning and Master Tu Jie are here."
"Come in quickly!" Hu Weiyong was very happy when he heard that it was Chen Ning/Tu Jie. After all, he was obviously being beaten by Zhu Yuanzhang, and many ministers were avoiding him. The only person who could come at this time was definitely Hardcore allies.
Soon, Chen Ning/Tu Jie walked in.
Seeing that the two people's faces were very serious, Hu Weiyong quickly asked: "Master Chen/Master Tu, why are you two looking like this? Could it be that something happened this morning?"
Chen Ning/Tu Jie looked at each other.
"Prime Minister Hu, Your Majesty decided to conquer Japan early this morning! Now the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Industry have all taken action. It is estimated that when the preparations are completed and the ships are built, the Ming Dynasty will attack Japan."
"Once Ming Dynasty and Japan start fighting, it will be difficult for us to do things."
As Hu Weiyong's die-hard allies, Chen Ning/Tu Jie also knew that Hu Weiyong had a close relationship with Japan. If the two sides fought, it would be life and death. It would be difficult for them to rely on Japan's power.
"Why don't you speak up to stop such a big thing?" Hu Weiyong said in a deep voice: "You are all censors. Once a war breaks out with Japan, the Ming Dynasty will fight on two fronts or even on multiple fronts. It is very dangerous. All officials should be It’s clear!”
Chen Ning/Tu Jie smiled bitterly.
"Hu Xiang, Mr. Tu and I have talked about this, and even Mr. Li Shanchang has spoken. However, His Majesty seems to have really made up his mind this time. You should know that if His Majesty makes a decision, we will not have any objections. Any effect."
"Prime Minister Hu, there is no possibility of turning around the Eastern Expedition. If we still want to get help from the Japanese people, we should probably pass this news to Japan!"
Hearing this, Hu Weiyong also felt that it made sense, but where was he going to inform the Japanese people now?
If that doesn't work, the only option is to send someone to Japan.
"The truth of this matter is already known. You two have been keeping an eye on matters in the court recently. If there is any important situation, you will report it to the truth immediately."
"understand!"
"Please don't worry, Mr. Hu."
"The Jin Yiwei are probably staring at the prime minister's house at the moment. Did you come in through a secret passage when you came?" Hu Weiyong asked in a deep voice. "The two of us had guessed this a long time ago, so we changed into disguises and came here through the secret passage. The people in Jinyiwei thought we were in the teahouse at this moment!" Tu Jie said with a smile.
"Jin Yiwei is very powerful, but we have been prepared for a long time, haha." Chen Ning also said quite proudly.
"Although we are well prepared, we must not be careless. It will only become more and more dangerous." Hu Weiyong said seriously.
"Yes."
"Then Hu Xiang, let's retreat first."
As Chen Ning/Tu Jie left, Hu Weiyong sat on the chair with a dull expression. The news brought by these two people made Hu Weiyong more and more worried. As the prime minister, such news as the expedition to Japan had to be informed by others. Such a signal It's already obvious.
Wasted appearance!
This word appeared in Hu Weiyong's mind for the first time.
In Hu Weiyong's view, even if he did something wrong, he would at most be dismissed by Zhu Yuanzhang. However, with his status and prestige in the court, and the fact that many officials followed his lead, it would not be long before he could return to power. to the phase.
Even if you really can't go back, you can follow Li Shanchang's example and retire, recommend someone else from the Huaixi Party to become the prime minister, and become a wealthy man with great influence on the political affairs of the court.
But after experiencing Zhu Yuanzhang beheading Japanese envoys in front of him, and not notifying him of major decisions such as the "Eastern Expedition to Japan", he became more and more aware of Zhu Yuanzhang's true purpose.
"Zhu Yuanzhang not only wants to depose me, but also wants to depose the prime minister!!"
"No, we must not let him succeed! The prime minister system has thousands of years of history. How can he abolish it if he wants to!!"
"He wants to stand against all civil servants!"
Just when Hu Weiyong was roaring with a ferocious face.
The housekeeper walked in cautiously and said, "Master Prime Minister, there is a person outside who claims to be an envoy from Japan asking to see you."
"Envoys from Japan? Aren't they all killed by His Majesty Zhu? The fakes from there are gone!" Hu Weiyong roared.
"Yes! I'll drive them away now!" the housekeeper said quickly.
"Wait a minute." Hu Weiyong suddenly stopped him again.
"Master Prime Minister?" the housekeeper asked doubtfully.
Hu Weiyong seemed to have thought of something. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Is he the only one?"
"There is only one person who is dressed like a Ming Dynasty person and can speak fluent Chinese and Japanese at the same time." The butler said truthfully.
"Let him in."
"Yes." The butler nodded.
Not long after, a middle-aged man was brought in by the housekeeper.
"You go down first. No one is allowed to come near without my order." Hu Weiyong said solemnly.
"Yes, Prime Minister." The housekeeper quickly stepped back.
After the housekeeper left, Hu Weiyong's eyes fell on the middle-aged man, "The Japanese envoy has been killed by the Ming Emperor. Tell me, who are you?"
The middle-aged man smiled lightly and said, "Prime Minister Hu, the Ming Emperor killed only fake Japanese envoys, and I am the real Japanese envoy."
"Just you?" Hu Weiyong said coldly: "The Japanese envoy has the Japanese Emperor's credentials/police treasures/customs clearance documents, etc. What do you have? You don't think that the truth will believe you just based on your words. Bar!"
"I also have what Prime Minister Hu said." After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he took out a stack of documents from the package on his back.
Hu Weiyong took a look at these documents and his face suddenly changed, "This is the credential. This is the treasure and the customs clearance document/envoy list. Are you really an envoy to Japan?!"
"Of course! If it's fake, it will be replaced!" the middle-aged man said proudly.
"Since you are the envoy of Japan, who is Ruyaozeng!!?" Hu Weiyong asked doubtfully.
"Of course he is also an envoy from Japan, but he is stupid, just like his master!" The middle-aged man said with a smile: "Prime Minister Hu, you see clearly, I am an envoy sent by Emperor Guangming."
"Emperor Komei? Isn't he Emperor Go-Daigo? Has your Japanese emperor been replaced?" Hu Weiyong suddenly said, "You are from the Ashikaga family! Ashikaga Takauji supported a puppet emperor!"
"As expected of the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, you guessed it before I even said it." The middle-aged man said with some surprise.
Hu Weiyong calmed down instead, "What's the matter? We, China, have a long history. What happened on your Japanese island has been played out many times in China. Although I have never met Ashikaga Takauji, I have passed it. A few letters show that he is a powerful minister and will never be willing to be Emperor Go-Daigo's subordinate. It is only a matter of time before he supports his puppet emperor."
"Before, it was Emperor Go-Daigo who sent people to the Ming Dynasty. Japan and Japan were quite consistent in their external relations. Now it seems that they are really at odds with each other."
"Forget it, none of this has anything to do with the truth. Ashikaga Takauji is stronger than Emperor Go-Daigo. You come to me, but are you looking for cooperation with the truth?"
The middle-aged man nodded, "That's true. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, Prime Minister Hu is definitely our most trusted ally in Japan. I came here to ask for Prime Minister Hu's help."
Hu Weiyong rolled his eyes at the middle-aged man, "Why should I help you? What benefits can I get from helping you?"
The middle-aged man seemed to have considered this for a long time and said directly: "We, the Ashikaga family, will soon be able to wipe out the Southern Dynasty where Emperor Go-Daigo is located. By then, Japan will be unified again. Japan, which has no civil war, will be able to send troops directly. Help the Prime Minister overthrow Zhu Yuanzhang's regime, and it will be up to you to decide whether the Prime Minister will become the emperor yourself or support a puppet!"
I have to say that Hu Weiyong was moved after hearing such words.
If there is really help from the Japanese, there will be a war on the northern border of the Ming Dynasty and on the southeast coast. If the battle goes against him, and he takes the opportunity to take action, it is very likely to oust Zhu Yuanzhang from the position of emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang, a beggar, could become the emperor, so why couldn't Hu Weiyong become the emperor!
Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong said in a deep voice: "You are here just in time. I have important news here. That is, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty is going to attack Japan. This time it is not just talk. You must prepare as soon as possible."
"As for the details of the deployment of the Ming army, we will gradually inform you of the truth later."
"The first thing you have to do is to pass the news back to Japan and contact Japan's spies in the capital. If you can't do this, you are not worthy of cooperating with the truth."
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Ashikaga Yoshihan!"
(End of this chapter)