Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 291 The troops arrive in Fukuoka

The first year of Yongle was a normal year for the people of the Ming Dynasty, but for the civil servants, it was a year in which they were gradually restrained.

They, who had been indulged since the 31st year of Hongwu, finally ushered in the end of the carnival.

Not only was the number of acres of land inspected by the tax department, but Zheng He's voyage to the East also aroused dissatisfaction from coastal merchant gangs. Officials below were busy working on it, and officials in high positions were helpless.

At this moment, they can only stare at every move of the Niagara Toyo Fleet, hoping that the Nitoyo Fleet's diplomacy will fail.

If the diplomacy of the Eastern Fleet succeeds and the Ming Dynasty successfully establishes shipping departments on Oki and Sado Island (Treasure Island), then the smuggling trade with Japan may be directly cut off in the future.

You must know that although there is no ashes blowing method, the amount of silver mined in Japan every year is still no less than one million taels.

Most of this silver was earned by smugglers, who also poured into Japan with large amounts of copper coins.

Such a move made the Ming Dynasty, which was already experiencing a money shortage, even worse. After all, the scale of silver in the early Ming Dynasty was not large enough to support a currency market for the time being.

Therefore, for Zhu Gaoxu, cracking down on smuggling and maintaining official trade were the policies most beneficial to the court.

Because of this, he checked the letters sent by the fleet almost every day.

The Japanese fleet took away 600 homing pigeons, so even if he was in Nanjing, he could keep track of the latest situation of the Japanese fleet.

Facts have proved that the Ming Dynasty's navigation skills were not bad. With the help of the Ming Dynasty's star-drawing technique and the longitude and latitude taught by Zhu Gaoxu, the Eastern Fleet successfully arrived at Jeju Island in North Korea on May 10th.

"Woo-"

In the early morning, when one hundred and fifty tall ships appeared in the southwest of Jeju Island, the rapid sound of horns suddenly sounded.

The small number of North Korean defenders on the island began to defend, but the tools they used to defend Jeju Island were old-fashioned trebuchets and ballistae, and few firearms existed.

Compared to them, the Eastern Fleet, which consisted of one hundred and fifty large ships, was quietly moored at sea.

Looking across the sea, they seem to be connected in series, forming a movable island, with a mysterious atmosphere and vast energy, giving the few defenders of Jeju Island a strong sense of oppression.

"How dare you! This is the fleet of angels, how can you be so rude!"

At Seogwipo Port on Jeju Island, Councilor Choi Jeong-do, who was wearing a third-grade official uniform, scolded the group of defenders guarding the island, asking them to put down their weapons and send a flag to the fleet at sea.

Not long after, twenty sand ships worth 200 materials were put down from the fleet and then driven towards Seogwipo.

Cui Zhengdao waited in Seogwipo with more than ten Licao officials. About two-quarters of an hour passed before the twenty sand ships with 200 materials entered Seogwipo and successfully docked.

On the ship, Zheng He, Cui Jun, and Zheng Jun landed in Seogwipo with more than 400 soldiers. Such a large-scale guard made the Jeju Island guard sweat.

But compared to the guard's vigilance, Cui Zhengdao smiled and stepped forward, knelt down, and spoke in Hongwu Zhengyun: "Li Cao consults Cui Zhengdao, and sees the angel..."

"No need to be polite." Zheng He helped Cui Zhengdao up, then glanced around Seogwipo and sighed:

"The place here is nice, but the port is too shallow. Our ship cannot dock, so we can only use this small sand boat to supply supplies."

"Small sand ship..." After hearing Zheng He's words, Li Cao's officials looked at each other, knowing that their main warships only had two hundred and four hundred materials.

Because the distance was too far, they could not feel the size of the Eastern Fleet at all.

But it doesn't matter. Since the Ming Dynasty established the Japanese Navy, the Japanese pirates along the coast have been almost wiped out. The smaller the naval force, the more convenient it is for them.

Thinking of this, the officials of Li Cao smiled one after another, and Cui Zhengdao, who was one of the six Cao Cao in the imperial court and the counselor of Li Cao, also said flatteringly:

"I would like to ask Angel, can you sell some of the goods from Japan on this mission to North Korea?"

As Li Cao's counselor, Cui Zhengdao also bears the task given by the country's leader Li Bangyuan, which is to obtain some of the things North Korea needs from the trade with the East Ocean.

In addition, major merchants in North Korea also bribed Cui Zhengdao to help purchase goods.

That's why he welcomed Zheng He so enthusiastically.

Faced with his enthusiasm, Zheng He seemed to be well prepared and took a book directly from the official behind him.

"This is a trade document for the voyage to the East. If North Korea has the goods it needs, just ask, and I will definitely not keep it."

"Thank you Angel." Hearing this, Cui Zhengdao eagerly took the booklet from Zheng He's hand.

But when he opened the brochure, the product names and prices on it made him take a breath.

Porcelain such as blue and white, green bean, and white porcelain are all popular aristocratic commodities in North Korea, not to mention brown sugar, raw silk, bow horns, rice paper, and wolf hair.

For North Korea, which is resource-poor, almost every commodity here is vital to their lives. The only problem is that they don't have enough money.

If the goods of the Eastern Fleet were sold at the price they gave, the amount would reach 2.17 million yuan.

Such an amount is definitely not something North Korea can afford.

"Does the angel need any goods?"

Cui Zhengdao was not in a hurry to trade, but asked what goods Daming needed.

"The imperial court sent me through Jeju Island mainly to buy horses."

Zheng He stated his intention without thinking. After all, the only goods North Korea could import from the Ming Dynasty in this era were horses.

During the Yuan Dynasty, many horse breeding places were established in Goryeo, and Jeju Island was one of them.

Compared with North Korea's embarrassment, the goods that Ming Dynasty could import into North Korea can be said to be in full bloom.

In this era, no country can unilaterally dump goods against Ming Dynasty.

"We can bid fifty bucks for each horse, and sell five hundred in total."

Cui Zhengdao tentatively spoke, but Zheng He frowned and said, "This quantity is too small. Your Majesty's order for me is to purchase a thousand horses."

"One thousand horses..." Cui Zhengdao was helpless when he heard this number.

Faced with the dazzling Ming Dynasty products, they had no other choice except selling horses. After all, North Korea was short of copper, let alone copper coins.

Only by selling horses and subsidizing a certain amount of copper coins can they buy the amount of goods they want.

Cui Zhengdao turned around to discuss with Li Cao's officials for a moment, then turned around and bowed, with a complicated expression: "One thousand horses, fifty thousand guan, plus our country's 40,000 guan, we hope to buy goods worth 90,000 guan." ."

"Okay, please ask Councilor Cui to prepare a note for me. In addition, our army also needs to get some water from Jeju Island." Zheng He nodded.

Hearing this, Cui Zhengdao also breathed a sigh of relief and continued to put on a smile: "It's just some water, the heavenly army please help yourself."

"Okay." Zheng He heard this and looked at Cui Jun and Zheng Jun. Upon seeing this, the two sent a hundred people to fetch water.

At the same time, Cui Zhengdao also drew up a note.

They bought ten pieces each of blue and white porcelain and fifty pieces each of green beans. In addition, they bought as many bows, horns, raw silk, brown sugar and other items as they could. Until they spent all 90,000 guan, Cui Zhengdao and the others reluctantly handed over the note. .

After glancing at the commercial slip, Zheng He stamped it with his own seal, and then sent a sand boat filled with water to bring back the goods to the fleet.

From early morning to dusk, Ming Dynasty's commodities landed in Seogwipo one after another, and were escorted by troops sent by Cui Zhengdao and others to the Yamen of Jeju Island.

The two parties agreed to go to Muma Mansion the next day to select horses. However, this time the horses were not transported by sea to Jiangnan, but north to Liaodong.

In this way, there is no need to wait until autumn.

Cui Zhengdao didn't have any objections to this. He just invited Zheng He and the others to a banquet that they thought was luxurious that night.

After three days of trade, when a thousand horses were delivered to ten horse ships and transported to Liaodong, Zheng He also set sail with his fleet.

Using the available resources, they successfully exchanged a thousand horses and 40,000 copper coins.

Squatting on the deck, Zheng He inspected the 40,000 copper coins. Looking at the "Zhizheng", "Zhiyuan", "Hongwu" and other Tongbao copper coins written on them, it was not difficult to imagine how they were smuggled. Human used in trade with North Korea.

"I don't quite understand. Aren't the North Koreans losing money by doing this business?"

Zheng Jun, who was standing aside, frowned and asked. Upon hearing this, the experienced Yang Qiu said without waiting for Zheng He to speak:

"It seems like a loss, but the goods worth 90,000 guan were taken back to Seoul or smuggled and sold to Japan, where they could basically be sold for 120,000 to 30,000 guan."

"So much?" Zheng Jun was dumbfounded. You must know that his salary is only one thousand dan, and it can only be 400 guan after the change.

If these 90,000 guan can be turned into 120,000 to 120,000 guan, then the extra 30,000 to 40,000 guan is almost comparable to some ordinary big government taxes.

"It would be great if we could do this business ourselves." Zheng Jun said with heartache, but Zheng He chuckled and said, "We make a lot of money."

"The cost of the goods sold to North Korea is only over 26,000 guan."

"With this single transaction, the imperial court not only gained a thousand good horses, but also earned back more than fourteen thousand copper coins."

Having said this, Zheng He also stood up and looked into the distance: "North Korea's trade volume is not large, and the real purpose of this voyage to the East is Japan."

"Only Japan can eat the goods on the ship now."

Zheng He's confidence made Cui Jun, who had been silent until now, question: "Can Japan eat so many commercial goods?"

"Don't underestimate them." Yang Zhan saw Cui Jun questioning and couldn't help but said:

"Although Japan is a small country and is isolated on the sea, since the reunification of the north and the south, the country's population has exceeded ten million, and there are silver mines to help. Although the people are poor, the nobles are very wealthy."

Yang Zhanping had been in Japan for many years and naturally had a general grasp of the general situation of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

In terms of wealth alone, Japan's guardians and nobles are definitely among the wealthier people around the Ming Dynasty.

The business of going to Japan and setting up a shipping department to Japan was the business of this group of people.

"Dang...dang...dang..."

When Zheng He and others were discussing trade with Japan, a huge ship's bell suddenly rang on the ship, sending out deep and distant echoes, which made people feel an ancient and solemn feeling.

"It's going to rain. Let's go back to the cabin first."

Zheng He closed the box full of copper coins, said hello, and led everyone back to the boat room.

Not long after, dark clouds came from the west, bringing not only rain but also strong winds and waves.

In front of nature, this fleet, which is the largest in human history, also appears very small.

On this vast sea, waves several feet high hit, making people tremble with fear.

Every attack from the waves was like the beating of a giant beast against the warship, causing the hull to bump left and right in the waves. At night, the icy sea breeze howls, like the eerie hissing of ghosts at night.

Although they had experienced several such storms, the soldiers in the cabin still chose to hide in the corner, holding the handrails tightly with nervous expressions.

The fleet moved forward against the wind and waves. Every time the waves flew into the air, they would be quickly blown away by the strong wind.

The rain curtain composed of water was blown away, and until the next morning, the bad weather still did not pass.

Zheng He walked out of the cabin and was almost blown away by the strong wind. Fortunately, he had a rope tied to his body, which gave him a chance to grab the guardrail.

Braving the strong wind, he looked eastward according to the compass.

Looking from a distance, a dark cloud covered the entire sky, and the ocean was pitch black, with only the deep waves foaming from time to time.

The waves on the sea rolled like an army in battle, marching forward bravely, roaring, and doing their best.

But in the thick dark clouds, Zheng He seemed to see a glimmer of light.

He wiped the rain off his face and returned to the cabin after making sure he had read it correctly.

After just a few breaths, his body was already soaked.

But even so, he still had a smile on his face when he returned: "This storm will pass soon. We can already see light in front of us. We can safely get out of the storm in three hours at most."

"Exactly, it's too dangerous for you to go out like this."

Yang Qiu, who rushed from other cabins, saw Zheng He's embarrassed appearance and quickly ordered someone to go up and change his clothes.

But in the face of Yang Qiu's worries, Zheng He smiled and said: "Your Majesty and His Highness have entrusted me to sail to the East Ocean. Naturally, I will do my best. How can I let the fleet lose its way because of greed for life and fear of death?"

"If something happens to you, then we won't be able to argue with you." Yang Qiu smiled bitterly, and Zheng He also knew what he meant.

After all, the fleet going to the East was mainly composed of military attachés from the East Palace, and he was the only one from the Yan Mansion.

If something happened to him, the military attache in the East Palace would definitely be jealous.

He didn't think so much about it before, he just wanted to find out the direction for the fleet, but now he thinks about it and is a little scared.

"I know, it will never be like this in the future."

After changing his clothes, Zheng He also sat down with a smile on his face.

But even though he had promised, Yang Qiu still sat beside him for a moment, for fear that he would run out to the deck again.

During this kind of 'surveillance', the sound of wind and waves outside the boat began to get smaller and smaller, and gradually, sunlight came through the crack in the door.

"Woo-"

The horn sounded, and everyone stood up happily.

The sound of the horn meant that they had successfully walked out of the storm. Everyone rushed out of the cabin and onto the deck.

The warm sunshine shone on them, sweeping away the gloom of yesterday.

The navy soldiers cheered, and some threw down the boat nets and organized the brothers to swim in the sea.

Amid cheers, Zheng He stepped onto the bow of the ship, holding the guardrail with both hands and looking at the blue sea.

The rolling waves on the sea are sometimes blown by the wind into various water sculptures, and sometimes they appear as sparkling sea surfaces. The entire sea shines under the sunlight and waves.

Zheng He put on glasses made of smoky quartz, took a rough look at the sun's position, and then judged his approximate position based on the compass and latitude and longitude.

Judging from the fact that yesterday's storm formed from the southwest, they should have been blown to the northeast.

If they do not deviate from the waterway, they are expected to reach Hizen Country on Kyushu Island, Japan soon.

If they strayed off course, they should be able to see Tsushima in the early afternoon.

With an anxious mood, Zheng He stood on the deck and waited for a long time. It was not until an island appeared in the northeast that Zheng He roughly understood his location.

"All fleets steered southeast for three quarters. We veered off course."

After seeing the islands and reefs, Zheng He knew that his group had strayed from the waterway.

From last year to this year, he has been learning navigation with Yang Zhan and the others. Now, after a few days of operation, he can also deal with basic navigation problems.

Under his order, one hundred and forty treasure ships, warships and horse ships began to turn around and head towards the Chikuzen Kingdom of Japan in the south.

On the deck, Zheng He invited Yang Qiu, Yang Zhan and others to unfold the map drawn by Zhu Gaoxu and filled out by the Japanese pirates.

He pointed at Chikuzen Province and explained: "Japan is currently under the control of the Ashikaga Shogunate, and the local system mainly uses the "stone high system" to express the area of ​​​​the fiefdom."

"The national stone in Zhuqian is more than 300,000 stones high. Normally, it has at least 200,000 people under its jurisdiction. With an annual income of 150,000 stones, it can mobilize about 20,000 troops."

"Right now, the guardian of the Chikuzen Kingdom is Shao Er Zadayori. They are fighting with the Ouchi family. As long as we send someone to inform us of our arrival in advance, the Shao Er family will not mess with us without the foresight."

"In addition to replenishing fresh water for trade, the main purpose is for them to send people to their capital to report the news and purpose of our arrival to Ashikaga."

"Therefore, I am going to send two hundred guards and three generals as envoys to go to Kyoto by land."

Zheng He still remembered Zhu Gaoxu's words about showing force and then engaging in diplomacy. If negotiations fail, then fight.

Therefore, he was not prepared to show the enemy's weakness, but to take the fleet directly into Chizen Bay to show the power of the Toyo Fleet.

"Understood, I am willing to go to its capital."

Hearing this, Yang Qiu opened his mouth to bow, but Zheng He quickly shook his head and said: "There is no need for Marquis Chongming to go there in person, it is enough to choose a Qianhu official."

"The Japanese have repeatedly killed my envoys before. This move is not just for trade, but we must first attack the enemy."

"If the Ashikaga family is unruly and massacres the mission again, it will be too late to regret it."

Yang Qiu dared to go to Kyoto, but Zheng He did not dare to let him go. Who knows whether the Ashikaga shogunate would also go crazy and kill the envoys.

Although they were courteous to the Ming Dynasty after they came to power, Zheng He had to guard against it.

If Yang Qiu is really killed, then Yang Zhan, the real helmsman of the Dongyang Fleet, may not be kind.

"This matter is so small that there is no need for father to go there in person."

Yang Zhan was also worried about Yang Qiu's safety, so after Zheng He spoke, he stopped Yang Qiu's thoughts.

Yang Qiu could only sigh helplessly when he saw this, and the Lower East Ocean Fleet was also under the command of Zheng He, heading towards the Fukuoka area of ​​​​Chizen Kingdom.

Their appearance quickly attracted the attention of Chizen fishermen fishing offshore.

When the island-like Japanese fleet appeared, the Chikuzen fishermen standing on the fishing boat were shocked.

"Dang...dang...dang..."

The melodious and simple bells echoed on the sea, not only announcing the arrival of the Pacific Fleet, but also reminding the fishermen to take shelter.

"Run away!!"

With shouts at the top of their lungs, the Chikuzen fishermen kept sliding their broken fishing boats. They didn't even have time to collect the fishing nets, and they fled towards Fukuoka Port as if they were running away.

They were not the only ones who discovered the Ming army, but also the soldiers and horses of the Shaoer clan in Fukuoka.

The melodious bells and the urgent bells formed a symphony, and the whole of Fukuoka began to be on emergency alert.

As the head of the Shaoer family and the guardian of Chikuzen Province, Shaoyi Sadayori heard the rapid ringing of the bell and immediately boarded the observation deck in Fukuoka.

In just a moment, he was shocked by the size of the fleet going to the East.

A fleet of one hundred and forty treasure ships, warships, and horse ships almost occupied the offshore waters of Fukuoka.

They are moored calmly and calmly on the sea. They seem to be very close to Fukuoka Port, but yet very far away.

"Master! This is the official ship of the Ming Dynasty!"

Rushing footsteps sounded not far from the observation deck, and a dozen retainers who had already put on armor ran towards the observation deck.

Upon seeing this, Shao Er Zhenlai also scolded: "Why are you panicking? We must first find out their intentions!"

"Yes!" The retainers agreed, and Young Master Zhen Lai also sent a retainer to the Ming Dynasty's fleet with his family's servant who was proficient in Chinese.

But as soon as they arrived at the port, they saw a "warship" heading towards Fukuoka Port.

The thousands of defenders in Fukuoka looked at the "warship" nervously. They didn't relax a little until it docked and three tall people wearing "expensive" silk got out.

"We are envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty. Is the head of the Chiqen Kingdom here?"

"I am Fukuoka Nobuyoshi, the retainer of Chikuzen Province. What is the purpose of your coming?"

Hearing the man headed by the three people speaking Kyoto dialect, Fukuoka Nobuyoshi also walked out of the debris at the port wearing armor and came to them with seven or eight soldiers.

When Fukuoka Nobuyoshi, who was less than four feet tall, walked in front of Ming Jun, who was over five feet tall, the height difference between the two sides was as much as one foot visible to the naked eye.

Such a gap made the three Ming soldiers look at each other, but they still bowed and took out a letter of credence and a booklet from their sleeves.

"This is the certificate of credence that the envoy gave to the Lord of Chikuzen. This is our trade document."

"If the Lord of the Chikuzen Country agrees, the bell can be rung at the port, and we will send 200 people to escort the envoy ashore, where they can have a drink and talk in detail with the Lord of the House."

After saying that, the three Ming soldiers bowed and stood up, turned around and walked onto the sand ship, which the Japanese regarded as a warship.

Not long after, they rowed away from Fukuoka Port, leaving only Fukuoka Nobuyoshi with his credentials and trade documents.

After the Ming army was completely gone, Fukuoka Keiyoshi hurriedly took his credentials and trade documents and ran towards the Shaoer clan's residence.

He knew one thing from the mouths of the three Ming soldiers, that is, the Shao Er family might be about to usher in a fortune...

　"Records of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty": "In the fifth month of Jiashen, Zheng He led his navy to reach Zhuqian. When the Japanese saw my warships, they were frightened and said: "Since ancient times, no Han army has arrived in front of Zhuqian. Now that the king's army is here, it is really the power of heaven." "

　　

　

(End of this chapter)