"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. [0↑ 9 △ small ↑ say △ net] "
Although he was unhappy that Yang Junmin was undermining him, in front of the Emperor, Shi Xing could only pretend to be magnanimous and not care. He said, "But other than being fond of gold and silver, Chen Lin is indeed very capable in war. He has not lost a single battle and is 60 years old this year. He can be considered a veteran and can intimidate soldiers. He has some reputation in the southern army, so it is indeed appropriate for him to be commander of the navy."
"Do not doubt the people you use, and do not use the people you doubt. Although Chen Lin has some small problems, I cannot expect everyone to be honest and faithful. As long as he can win battles and take some money, I do not mind. I will even reward him greatly. Send someone to summon Chen Lin to the capital and instruct him to prepare to head south to organize the navy and have the navy move out as soon as possible."
Zhu Yijun decided to use this somewhat greedy Chen Lin.
"That's right, we cannot give him the rank of commander. Someone has to keep an eye on him so that he does not take advantage of his seniority and make excuses on the battlefield. Only give him the rank of commander-in-chief. He will be subordinate to Commander Xiao Ruxun and listen to his orders."
"As you command!"
Shi Xing bowed again.
After the discussion was over, Zhu Yijun turned around and left. He didn't say anything else to comfort them, causing the two of them to feel anxious. When they could no longer see Zhu Yijun's figure, the two of them carefully left the palace. The moment they stepped out of the palace, they both let out a sigh of relief. [0↑ 9 △ small ↑ say △ net]
"Shi Butang, why do I feel that His Majesty has called us here for a very different reason?"
Yang Junmin was not his father, Yang Bo, so he could not sense the true meaning behind Zhu Yijun's change in attitude. However, Shi Xing clearly sensed it. However, he did not have much of a relationship with Yang Junmin, nor did he have any dealings with the Jin party. Just now, Yang Junmin had even doubted his choice, so he naturally had nothing to say to Yang Junmin.
"I can only say that His Majesty is angry, and he is venting it on us. From now on, we should be more careful when we do things, lest we anger His Majesty. Losing our positions is a small matter, but it is a big matter to bring disaster to our families!"
With a strange smile on his face, Shi Xing said those words in an enigmatic tone and then walked away. Yang Junmin didn't react until Shi Xing had gone far away. Yang Junmin didn't react, and anger flashed across his face.
"You …"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he did not know where to start. The Jin party was too arrogant and the Jin merchants were too reckless. They had touched the nerves of other places and the Jin party was no longer welcomed in the imperial court. It was conceivable that if he were to resign, the Jin party's backing in the imperial court would be gone. The other factions would definitely think of ways to swallow the Jin party's right to speak.
At that time, what should the Jin party do?
Both the success and the failure of the Jin merchants were due to them!
Yang Junmin thought of the 200,000 taels of silver and felt a headache coming on. He shook his head and left the palace dejectedly.
The news of the Emperor summoning the officials quickly spread throughout the imperial court. Some of the officials were excited, some were worried, and each had their own thoughts. When Shi Xing and Yang Junmin returned, they swarmed around them and asked all sorts of questions. This made the two of them depressed. They then repeated the Emperor's words and passed on the news that the Emperor was going to mobilize the navy to attack the Japanese pirates.
When many imperial censors heard this news, they decided to write a memorial to criticize the Emperor. The war couldn't be started easily. Although it had started, the 40,000 troops heading east to Korea was already the limit of Daming. What else was there to Daming? Mobilizing the navy would cost another 300,000 taels of silver. For Korea to attack the Japanese pirates, we wouldn't get anything in return. We're suffering because we want to save face. Don't you think you're suffering because you want to save face?
Zhu Yijun wouldn't easily tell the officials the main point of the problem. This time, he wanted to keep the benefits to himself and not share it with others. So on the surface, the imperial edict was to divert attention. The real purpose and the summons had already been passed to Xiao Ruxun through the Imperial Bodyguard's spies.
Zhu Yijun wanted Xiao Ruxun to get the navy's cooperation. After cutting off the Japanese pirates' retreat route, he would force the Japanese pirates to sit at the negotiating table. Then, he would occupy all the gold and silver mines that he knew of. It would be best if he could force Japan to cede a piece of land that was filled with people. Then, he would use the Japanese to open up mines for Daming. This would save Daming from having to provide manpower and resources himself. If he could do this, he would build a new military town and appoint Xiao Ruxun as the commander-in-chief of this military town.
So when Xiao Ruxun received this secret order in Daegu, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Zhu Yijun had already decided to win her over as his trusted aide. This was good news. However, Xiao Ruxun did not intend to start developing his own forces from here. His goal was to develop in Nanyang. Only in Nanyang would he be able to come into contact with the wider world, interact with more foreigners, and settle some of the things that were still in the planning stage, seeking a foundation to establish himself.
This place only needed to be guarded by a reliable person. Ma Gui was a good candidate. However, Zhu Yijun's appetite was obviously in line with Xiao Ruxun's ideas. Xiao Ruxun admired Zhu Yijun's way of thinking. Not only did he want to take advantage of Japan's gold and silver mines, he also wanted them to cede land and pay compensation. How creative was this?
Yes, why didn't he think of forcing Japan to sign an unequal treaty and force them to cede land and pay compensation? Japan was far from being a monolithic country. They were also divided into East and West factions. The West faction was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's true strength, while the East faction was a "daimyo", similar to a semi-independent vassal state that listened to orders but did not listen to orders. Toyotomi Hideyoshi could not interfere in their affairs.
Not to mention that Xiao Ruxun also knew that the last victor of the Warring States Period of Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was hidden among these most powerful daimyo.
It had to be said that Japan's Warring States Period was really similar to China's Three Kingdoms Period, and Tokugawa Ieyasu could indeed be compared to Sima Yi. They were both ninja turtles, and they endured for decades to forcibly obtain the right to rule Japan. This was also the start of the Tokugawa shogunate's two-hundred-and-sixty-year rule. It was not an exaggeration to call him an old fox.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi's power was currently in a precarious situation, and the last victor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was still eyeing him covetously. If they could defeat Toyotomi Hideyoshi's hawk faction on the battlefield, then when the relatively conservative Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power in Japan, he would force him to sign an unequal treaty in exchange for Daming's recognition.
Based on the current situation, it seemed that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not reacted to the defeat in Korea, but Xiao Ruxun believed that it was not that Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not react, but that he did not know about it at all. If his generals deliberately concealed their defeat, Toyotomi Hideyoshi himself was not in Korea, so how would he know?
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