Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 416 "Suppression of Japanese Pirates" in Progress

Although he didn't achieve his ultimate goal in one fell swoop, Liu Ye was still quite satisfied. The fact that he was sent to fight the Dutch and Japanese pirates indicated that Emperor Chongzhen recognized his abilities. If he successfully "expelled" Putmans and Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the position of general might soon fall into his lap.

Just as Liu Ye was preparing to set off for Fujian and Zhejiang to "fight," Lin Tianming's letter arrived in Lingao the next day.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wen Tiren immediately wrote a letter to Lin Tianming. Because it didn't follow the usual procedures for official documents, this letter was sent before the Ministry of War's dispatch order. However, the Ministry of War's dispatch order could be delivered by express courier, and although Wen Tiren was the Grand Secretary, he dared not use official channels for private letters. The journey took longer, and after the letter arrived in Dengzhou, Lin Tianming wrote another letter to forward it to Lingao. As a result, the letter, which arrived several days early, finally arrived after the dispatch order.

Lin Tianming's letter was concise, relaying the information revealed by the Grand Secretary: the Emperor was willing to transfer troops from Qiongzhou to relieve the difficulties in Fujian and Zhejiang, but remained noncommittal regarding Mu Tianyan's request to establish a garrison, ultimately withholding the petition. Furthermore, regarding the issue of the Japanese pirates versus the Manchus, the Emperor clearly valued the latter more, as Jiangnan was the court's largest source of tax revenue, far more important than Fujian.

Liu Ye summoned Sun Yuanhua and asked, "What exactly does the Emperor mean by 'keeping it from being issued'? Does he agree or disagree?"

Sun Yuanhua, who rose to the rank of governor, naturally knew the intricacies of the matter and answered confidently: "It means that His Majesty keeps the memorials of his ministers in the palace without discussing or replying to them. This is neither an agreement nor a rejection; it is mostly a matter of difficult decision-making, so he puts them aside for now and see how things develop later."

So that's what happened. It seems we can't rush to "annihilate" the Japanese pirates; we need to find a way to stall them and continue putting pressure on Emperor Chongzhen. Liu Ye thought to himself.

After the deployment of troops for the "suppression of Japanese pirates" was completed, the Qiongzhou garrison boarded ships and set off for Zhejiang. This "operation," planned entirely by Liu Ye himself, could more accurately be classified as an exercise. Originally, only a symbolic deployment of a portion of the troops would have been necessary, and Liu Ye himself would not have needed to go. However, in order to adjust strategies promptly based on the court's attitude, Xia Tiannan chose to personally go to the front line to command, to avoid delays in decision-making due to communication difficulties, which could affect the entire plan. In addition, Liu Ye brought all military commanders and staff with him—this "military operation" deep inland in Jiangnan could be used as cover to observe the terrain and troop deployment in Jiangnan up close, obtaining the most accurate first-hand information. In the future, they would eventually have to move north, and Jiangnan was a region that needed to be controlled. Doing some homework early would make things easier in the future.

Taizhou, Linhai County.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa led his samurai to seize the mansion of a local powerful family outside the county town, taking over its temporary base. The mansion was extremely spacious, easily accommodating several thousand people.

While directing his men to move gold, silver and other valuables from the cellar, Shimazu Mitsuhisa sighed to his confidant, “The Ming people are really rich, especially in Jiangnan. This country landlord’s courtyard alone is not much smaller than His Majesty the Emperor’s palace. The wealth accumulated in his mansion is truly enviable. We’ve been moving for almost a whole morning and we’re still not done.”

"Exactly, exactly. Thanks to our lord for bringing us to Jiangnan, the wealth we have gained during this time is beyond anything we could have imagined in our lives. We probably won't be able to spend it all by the time our grandchildren are born!" the warrior chimed in.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa chuckled dryly, not responding to the question. He had indeed led the operation, but without the Qiongzhou Camp's permission, how could they have so easily penetrated deep into the Jiangnan region? He secretly glanced at the Qiongzhou Camp soldiers in the distance; these men, dressed in Japanese samurai attire, were counting and inspecting the valuables carried out by the ronin.

As agreed, the gold and silver, among other precious metals, would belong to the Qiongzhou camp, while the remaining jewelry and calligraphy would be given to the Satsuma Domain. Each side got what they wanted, and everyone was happy. Japan was rich in silver, and its gold production wasn't low either. They weren't particularly interested in gold and silver, but they coveted valuable jewelry and calligraphy by famous figures. These items were not only priceless but also served as bragging rights upon returning home. Shimazu Mitsuhisa could now hold his head high when facing other daimyo. With these works of art and a touch of refinement, surely no one would still ridicule the Satsuma Domain as a bunch of country bumpkins from Kyushu?

Shimazu Mitsuhisa turned his head again to look at the group of men, women, and children bound like dumplings in the corner—the owners of the mansion and their families—and shook his head. If there was any regret about his trip to Jiangnan, it was that the Qiongzhou camp kept a close eye on him, forbidding him from killing indiscriminately, which made him always feel like something was missing when he was working. His samurai sword in its sheath was itching for a fight.

At this moment, an officer from the Qiongzhou camp approached and asked, "Lord Shimazu, we have now reached the outskirts of Linhai City. What is your next plan? Will you bypass the county town and continue robbing the wealthy households, or will you attack the county town?"

Shimazu Mitsuhisa bowed respectfully and asked earnestly, "What is your department's opinion?"

The officer replied, "Before you left, I told you that as long as you abide by the three rules we agreed on, we will not interfere with your actions or routes. However, I can tell you that Linhai County is the capital of Taizhou Prefecture, and its defenses are more stringent than those of other counties. The city is also more prosperous than other counties."

Shimazu Mitsuhisa understood. While prefectural cities were generally more difficult to attack than county towns, they also possessed greater wealth; the difficulty outweighed the benefits. After weighing the options, he made up his mind: "Then let's attack Linhai!"

Inside Linhai County, the prefectural government office was bustling with activity as military officials from the city gathered to discuss how to deal with the Japanese pirates outside the city.

Prefect Xu Shilu asked with great concern, "Now that the Japanese pirates are at the city gates, does anyone have a good plan to repel them?"

Tan Zheng, the commander of the local garrison, replied: "Prefect, the Japanese pirates are too powerful to be defeated by force. The best course of action is to firmly defend the city."

Feng Su, the magistrate of Linhai County, retorted: "Commander Tan is mistaken. The Japanese pirates are rampaging through the countryside and harming the people of Linhai. Wherever they go, people's homes are destroyed and people die. How can we hide in the city and watch the people suffer?"

Tan Zheng rolled his eyes, looked up at the sky, and grumbled, "Whoever has the ability to defeat the Japanese pirates can go. I'm not going to die." He was joking. His great-grandfather was the hereditary commander of the Taizhou Garrison. He had fought against the Japanese pirates with Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou and died under their swords. Now the position of commander had been passed to him. His son was still young, and he couldn't act rashly now and ruin the future of the Tan family.