Li Chengliang did have a chance, but the problem was that Wang Xijue was not in the court, and there was not enough power to protect Li Chengliang. Zhao Zhigao wanted to smooth things over and left with Zhu Yijun. Although Zhang Wei was on Zhao Zhigao's side, he was still the Vice Premier. Things had to be left to the Vice Premier. Even if he was a temporary Vice Premier, he was still a Vice Premier. Even if Wang Xijue came back, the Vice Premier would still be Zhao Zhigao's, and Zhang Wei would be demoted to become the Vice Premier.
There was a world of difference between a Vice Premier and a Vice Premier. Zhang Wei would not completely become enemies with Zhao Zhigao because of Li Chengliang. Not to mention that Emperor Wanli was still watching covetously from above. It would not be good for Emperor Wanli to deal with the small officials who caused trouble. It would not end well to use an anti-aircraft cannon to kill a mosquito. However, if the big shots stirred up trouble, the Emperor would immediately take action without mercy.
The Emperor's methods were not any weaker than his grandfather's. The only difference was that the Emperor did not have Yan Song in his hands, but Emperor Jiajing did.
Zhang Wei had already led a group of officials to force Emperor Wanli to abdicate before the war in Ningxia and Korea. He had almost forced Emperor Wanli to compromise. He had thoroughly offended the Emperor. At this time, if he still did not know when to stop, what awaited Zhang Wei was not the flying fish robes and spring embroidery knives, but the completely infuriated Emperor.
It was easy to imagine how difficult Zhang Wei's situation was. At this time, when he could not even protect himself, it was impossible for Zhang Wei to stand out and speak up for Li Chengliang. Neither Zhao Zhigao nor Zhang Wei said anything. The officials of the Six Ministries could not express their opinions either. Except for Shi Xing, who urged everyone to turn their attention to the war and serve it, most of the high-ranking officials remained silent, watching the Imperial Censors stand out and criticize Li Chengliang.
Moreover, at this moment, the big shots and the officials of the Six Ministries seemed to have sensed that something was wrong.
On the 23rd of the tenth month, two days after Xiao Ruxun's battle report arrived, Emperor Zhu Yijun suddenly issued an order to the Ministry of War, asking Shi Xing about the possibility of mobilizing the navy of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces north to join forces with the Korean navy to fight in Korea, as well as the cost.
The Emperor's plan was to join forces with the Korean Navy to defeat the Japanese Navy at sea and seize control of the sea. Then, he would capture Tsushima and cut off the connection between Korea and Japan. Then, he would trap the Japanese soldiers in Korea and end the war as soon as possible.
Needless to say, this idea was very constructive, but how feasible was it in practice?
How many warships were there? What about sailors and soldiers? Who is the commander? How much was the military expenditure?
The key was in military expenses. The Ministry of Revenue could not allocate any funds. If they wanted to fight on the sea, they would need the Emperor to allocate silver from the palace treasury. The Emperor's palace treasury was limited. If they could not allocate that much silver, what would happen? Where did the money in the national treasury go? Since ancient times, there had never been a war that did not use silver from the national treasury for military expenses. Only the Daming wanted the Emperor to use his own money to fight the war, and the officials thought it was natural.
It was said that one does not think about politics if one is not in a position. Only when one is in a position does one know the hardships. Do you really want to squeeze the last drop of blood out of the Daming Dynasty?
Shi Xing suddenly had the thought of retreating.
The next day, Shi Xing gave the results of the Ministry of War's discussion to Zhu Yijun. Zhu Yijun read it. Shi Xing said that during the preparations for war in the 19th year of Wanli, the coastal provinces had already built a large number of warships to prepare for war. If they were to send out 300 warships would not be a problem.
If they sent out 300 warships to battle, they would need at least 300,000 liang of silver in military expenses. This did not include the replenishment costs after the sea battle. Unless the Japanese pirates and navy ended the war and captured Tsushima, if they wanted to fight a war of attrition, the military expenses for the navy would probably increase by hundreds of thousands of liang.
The key was that manpower consumption was great. Not only did they need navy soldiers, but they also needed a large number of sailors to operate the ships.
Moreover, the candidate for the commander of the navy was also up for discussion.
In short, the ideal is very rich, but the reality is very thin. Your Majesty, we think that we can accept your request, but how much you need to pay is your own business. If you are really willing to part with it, then if you can take out the budget of five hundred thousand taels of silver, we will immediately send out our troops without any hesitation. After the battle, we will even give you some left over. If not … if we don't go, then we might as well not go at all. Let Xiao Ruxun spend more effort to help you outflank the Wokou pirates!
To tell the truth, Zhu Yijun had originally considered this problem, but Xiao Ruxun had specifically said that Korea had famous naval generals, but they did not have enough warships to destroy the Japanese pirates and navy. The Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin was a rare naval genius. Relying on his inferior military strength to fight alone, he greatly weakened the Japanese pirates' transportation ability. However, his fleet could not affect the overall situation. If they wanted to completely cut off the Japanese pirates' sea transportation, they had to destroy their navy. This would require a scale of at least 500 warships to do so.
After the sea battle, they would have to carry out beach and land operations. They would land on Tsushima, capture all the Japanese pirates on the island, occupy Tsushima, and move both sides' battle lines forward to the Tsushima Island line. This would make Tsushima Island a barrier for the Korean peninsula and not a springboard for the Japanese pirates.
A budget of 500,000 liang of silver …
Zhu Yijun was caught in a dilemma. He did have some money in the palace treasury, but it was not to the extent that he could arbitrarily allocate funds without regard for other things.
Zhu Yijun's dilemma and the storm in the court had not yet affected Xiao Ruxun, but the sudden change in weather on the Korean peninsula did affect him. Starting from October 25th, the temperature suddenly dropped. According to Xiao Ruxun's observation, the temperature should have dropped to below zero because the water in his bowl outside the tent was completely frozen the next day.
The Imjin River had not frozen yet, but according to the current situation, it would freeze in the next few days. The time to cross the river and fight the Japanese pirates was almost here.
At this time, Song Yingchang's letter to Xiao Ruxun was delivered to Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun opened the letter and was shocked. After reading the entire letter, Xiao Ruxun realized that his back was soaked in sweat. He could imagine that if it were not for Song Yingchang and Liu Huangshang who read his report of victory, he would have died a horrible death.
The emperor might not have been able to protect him in time.
After reading the letter, Xiao Ruxun burned the letter, leaving only ashes, and disappeared from the world.
He owed a big favor again …
Xiao Ruxun walked out of the military tent and let the biting cold wind blow on her body. She took a deep breath of the cold air and calmed down her fiery heart. It had to be said that the two consecutive victories had made her a little complacent. She had forgotten that this was not the Great Tang, but the Great Ming Empire. Generals had no right to discuss government affairs. She was so eager to display her "talent in administration" that she had forgotten her fundamental situation.
He had been too impatient and rash.
Xiao Ruxun made a deep reflection on himself.
"Achoo!"
While he was reflecting, Xiao Ruxun heard someone sneeze. He turned around and saw two soldiers guarding outside his tent.
"Why, are you cold? Did you not wear your clothes properly? "
Xiao Ruxun asked with a smile.
"Admiral! No … no! We have to wear our winter clothes properly! But … but … "
The Zhejiang soldier on the left was obviously nervous. Although Xiao Ruxun had always been kind to the soldiers, he was not careless when it was time to be serious. The soldiers were very respectful of Xiao Ruxun. The soldier on the right opened his mouth and said, "We are all southerners, and we grew up in Zhejiang. In the past, Zhejiang's winter was not so cold, so we are not used to it."
"Sneezing is a sign that you are about to catch a cold. The army will probably be preparing to cross the river in a few days. If you fall sick at this time, it will not be worth it. Find someone to change shifts. Go find a doctor and get some ginger soup to drive away the cold. Then run a few laps, and your body will warm up. You are all soldiers, so you should be able to endure a small illness! Go! "
Xiao Ruxun smiled and patted him on the shoulder. The two guards laughed foolishly, bowed and were about to leave, but before they could take a few steps, Xiao Ruxun stopped them.
Xiao Ruxun's expression became very strange.
"Wait, come here for a moment."
"Huh?"
The two soldiers were a little confused, but they still obeyed and came over. Xiao Ruxun reached out and touched them, pulling at their winter clothes. His expression changed, and he frowned.
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