Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

As the morning light first broke, Nanjing Yanziji Naval Port gradually woke up from the silence of the night. A faint golden red appeared on the horizon, and the morning glow shone on the ships of the Ocean Fleet Squadron where Zheng He returned home.

There were three ports where Zheng He's fleet was stationed. Due to the navigation conditions of the Yangtze River, treasure ships with a cost of 1,500 yuan or more could not enter the Yangtze River. Therefore, the large treasure ships were all kept at the Taiping Port of Ma Toujiang, Changle, Fujian Province. , and medium-sized ships mostly use Liujiagang, Taicang County, Suzhou Prefecture, in the south as their home port. Only some small and medium-sized ships are stationed at the Yanziji Military Port in Nanjing, which is not very spacious.

The reason for setting up a squadron in Nanjing is actually not to pursue the meaning of the existence of the fleet. After all, there is no war now. It is just to let the students of the Ming Dynasty Royal Military Academy understand the navy and learn water warfare, and on the other hand, it is to lead the army. In order to let the citizens and officials in Nanjing know how majestic the Ming Dynasty's ocean fleet is.

The ships, made of hundreds of materials, have long and slender hulls, winding like giant dragons parked in the port. Their masts stand tall, like the stretched necks of the dragons, and the canvases sway gently in the morning wind, making a rustling sound. It's like dragon scales rubbing each other.

The sailors on the ship have already begun their daily work. No matter whether they are at anchor or at sea, there is nothing less to do. These shirtless sailors shuttled on the deck, and some climbed vigorously along the ropes to the At the top of the mast, they inspected every detail; some squatted on the side of the ship, carefully cleaning the deck with river water and brushes to ensure it was as smooth as a mirror.

In fact, deck painting is a common subject for almost all ocean-going fleets, and is not exclusive to Dai Ying. The Ming Dynasty also liked to use this matter to train sailors, officers and soldiers.

Soon, following the orders of the officers, the squadron began to get busy. The fleet slowly set sail from Yanziji. Today there was an important naval drill, which was regarded as a ship review on the river. The audience was the people of Nanzhili who came after hearing the news. them.

The huge anchor chain was pulled up by the sailors through the winch, making a dull sound, and the sails gradually swelled in the wind, as if the wings of a giant dragon were spread out, ready to take off.

At this time, the Xiaguan Pier in the southwest was bustling with people, as if the entire city of Nanjing had gathered here.

Merchants were wearing silk clothes that were beheaded in the Hongwu Dynasty, holding abacus in hand, discussing possible trade opportunities in low voices; vendors were pushing carts or carrying burdens, selling various snacks and souvenirs; children were among the crowd. Moving happily, they chased and played, or looked curiously at the huge anchor chains and rough cables on the warships coming from Yanziji Pier.

The squadron set off from the Yanziji Military Pier in Nanjing and marched all the way to Xiaguan Pier in Nanjing, preparing to present a shocking river parade to the people of South Zhili.

As the horn sounded, warships cut across the river like arrows, stirring up layers of waves, and the sails of the ships were roaring. The sailors on the ships were in high spirits. They had changed from shirtless to fully clothed. shirt.

When the squadron arrived at Xiaguan Pier in Nanjing, the people who had been waiting here burst into enthusiastic cheers. They rushed to the riverside to witness this rare event.

I saw warships gathering on the river, their flags covering the sun, and their majestic momentum.

"It's a pity that there is no treasure ship with two thousand materials."

On the viewing platform, Zheng He said to Jiang Xinghuo with some regret.

"It doesn't matter."

The river wind blew Jiang Xinghuo's sleeves. He stared at the river in the distance, but his mind was elsewhere.

In the past year, as the scale of Qingtian gradually expanded to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huanghuai and other chief ministers, large-scale killings and punishments gradually weakened the resistance of the gentry. Simply put, these gentry were You are a bastard. If you don’t knock, you will be dishonest. If you knock, you will kneel down.

In the past, the gentry were unwilling to give in any interests and clamored every day, betting that the public opinion would be overwhelming and the court would not dare to take action. But when the butcher's knife fell on their heads, they were immediately willing to give up everything to save their lives.

Of course, this situation was very intense at the beginning, but seeing that the resistance was ineffective, the chief envoys, especially the chief envoys in Jiangxi, which had the majority of officials from the DPRK and China, immediately began to become smarter, and passed donations and transfers within the limits allowed by the rules. Try to preserve the land and soil by dividing the family, rather than holding your neck against the machete.

With the temporary weakening of the opposition force, or dormant and waiting for the opportunity to resist, on the surface, various domestic new policy initiatives are progressing steadily. Although there are many tedious little things, there are no big obstacles anymore, but in fact, for Jiang Xinghuo to come He said, there are still many things to do.

However, Jiang Xinghuo's attention has gradually shifted away from various domestic affairs and focused on the world.

Jiang Xinghuo was mainly thinking about two aspects.

The first aspect is that with the Northern Expedition to the Tatars and the defeat of Timur's expedition, the surrounding geopolitical environmental conditions have initially stabilized. Jiang Xinghuo has adopted methods such as adding salt to the banknotes, issuing national bonds, and reducing the minting of copper coins. The actual currency value began to rise, gradually approaching that of copper coins. Although there is still a long way to go, it is no longer as far away as before. Therefore, a cross-sea expedition to Japan to obtain silver mines has become achievable, and only by obtaining Only the large silver mines in Japan can carry out the currency reform that Jiang Xinghuo has been preparing for a long time.

The second aspect is closely related to currency reform, that is, the establishment of the world trade and currency system with Ming Dynasty as the core.

With the expansion of horizons and the world situation, especially the reconciliation of the two superpowers, the Ming Dynasty and the Timurid Khanate, the opening of direct trade routes between the east and the west has become possible. If the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going fleet can bypass the Cape of Good Hope and follow the African coastline to reach Europe And by establishing supply stations along the way, it will be very easy to sail to the Americas to obtain the belated "traveler's three-piece set" of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes. In terms of world trade alone, it will also be able to communicate between the East and the West. trade, thus building a world trade system with Ming Dynasty as the core.

As the most powerful manufacturing country in the world, the Ming Dynasty not only has an irreplaceable market position in traditional key commodities such as tea, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, etc., but also has an irreplaceable market position in new trade commodities such as perfume and liquor. , glass, cotton textiles, etc., also have overwhelming advantages.

The absolute advantage in world trade means that the current demand for Ming from all countries in the world is far greater than Ming's demand for countries around the world. Daming can rely on this advantage to become the leader of the world trade system.

Continuously grabbing profits from world trade to form a virtuous cycle not only means that the scale of Ming's manufacturing industry continues to grow, but also means that Ming can allocate more military expenditures to naval shipbuilding, route maintenance, and port construction. This kind of Advantages in military strength will also feed back positively to trade.

With the two necessary conditions of advantageous trade status and strong route control capabilities, Ming Dynasty can force all countries to join the Ming Dynasty-led monetary system in trade and use silver banknotes for settlement. In this way, along with the financial system With its development, Ming Dynasty can continue to use the monetary system to achieve invisible control and crisis transfer to all countries in the world through its dominance based on "force guarantee + trade advantage".

The control of the world by this monetary system is very long in terms of time.

Generally speaking, the first thing in a global empire to collapse is the "trade advantage", because technological leadership is not permanent, and vested interests often transfer industries to reduce costs and invest in the financial industry. To make quick money that is easier to make, this will gradually lose the "trade advantage" in both technology and manufacturing. With the loss of trade advantage, late-developing countries will also repeat the rise of this global empire and use trade The wealth obtained is used to arm the army for shipbuilding competitions. In this way, after one or two wars, the "force guarantee" will often become less reliable. After losing both, the monetary system will collapse and change hands.

And this time is often calculated in units of hundreds. One or two hundred years is easy. If it is maintained well, it will be three or four hundred years, or even five or six hundred years. It is not impossible.

However, these two aspects of things are currently just Jiang Xinghuo's long-term plan for the world situation. If it is really put into practice, there is still a long way to go. At least there are a few things that need to be resolved urgently right now.

"Is the Majapahit Empire still honest? Did you encounter their fleet south of Xingang on your way back this time?"

Zheng He replied without hesitation: "On the way back this time, we were always on guard against the Majapahit Empire. After all, this is the only existence in Southeast Asia that can be called an empire. Without our Ming Dynasty, it would not be the overlord of Southeast Asia. Excuse me. The fleet resupplied once in Xingang. After completely leaving the strait, a huge fleet suddenly appeared on the distant sea horizon. It is not an exaggeration to say that the masts were like forests and the canvas was like clouds. It was Majapahit. As for the imperial warships, we were all ready for battle at that time. Our ships were bigger and had artillery, so we would definitely win in a fight, but we didn’t fight in the end.”

"What's their attitude?"

"A small boat was sent with several envoys on it to negotiate with us. These envoys were sent by Vikaramavahana, the emperor of the Majapahit Empire. Their attitude was very respectful and they expressed to me that their emperor He expressed his respect and expressed his willingness to maintain friendly relations with Ming Dynasty."

"Weird." Jiang Xinghuo frowned slightly.

Zheng He stayed in Fujian for a long time after returning to China, because only the shipyards in Fujian had the ability to repair and maintain treasure ships on a large scale. These behemoths with 1,500 pieces of materials and 2,000 pieces of materials had been traveling to the ocean for so long, and they did not come back until southern Tianzhu. The underside of the hull has long been covered with various algae, snails, and various types of damage that cannot be seen during normal navigation. It must be set up on the slipway, cleaned, and then properly maintained.

Therefore, Zheng He did not have time to tell Jiang Xinghuo about his experience of this voyage. He only communicated twice by writing letters. Now when asked, Jiang Xinghuo felt that the attitude of the Majapahit Empire was strange.

Because the Majapahit Empire was the overlord of Nanyang, this country started from a small country and encroached and expanded through wars against surrounding countries. Moreover, the Majapahit Empire actually perished in the 30th year of Hongwu. The rival Srivijaya Kingdom, today's Srivijaya Kingdom is just in name only, but in reality the princes in various places are doing their own thing.

Xingang Xuanfu envoy Shi Jinqing succeeded Liang Daoming's king, and his decrees could not leave Xingang. Xingang now lost Chen Zuyi's pirate fleet. It was able to gain a foothold in Nanyang and resist the invasion of the Majapayi Empire because of the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty was actually the biggest obstacle to the expansion of the Majapahit Empire.

So why did the Majapahit Empire bow to the Ming Dynasty?

"Do you want us to let down our guard?"

"It's really not."

Zheng He said honestly: "Later we conducted a careful investigation and found out that the Majapahit Empire is now suffering from internal and external troubles. Not only is there internal trouble, but there are also enemies externally. There is no time to look west now."

"Tell me carefully."

"On the outside, the Kingdom of East Java is rising. The Majapahit Empire ruled the vast archipelago area with Java as its core. It even defeated the Mongols' cross-sea expeditions in the past. However, as the empire was established for a long time, extravagance prevailed and its armaments were no longer sufficient. It is no longer the same as before, and the East Javanese are even more barbaric and better at fighting than they are. They have defeated several armies sent by the Majapahit Empire to suppress rebellions, and have recruited many other tribes. By recruiting and surrendering rebels, the size of the army has increased. The more we fight, the bigger it gets.”

Jiang Xinghuo nodded, which was not surprising. All the big empires behaved this way in their final stages. It was nothing more than a Jurchen story.

"What about the internal worries of the Majapahit Empire?"

"We have to start from the beginning." Zheng He said helplessly.

"No rush, let's talk while watching the ship review exercise."

Jiang Xinghuo motioned to Zheng He to look at the Yangtze River. While the two were talking, the ship review had already begun. Now after going around in a circle and arranging the formation, the exercise began.

Each warship of different models is displayed in turn according to its positioning and functions. Some warships are equipped with small and medium-caliber artillery, with their muzzles raised to the sky, as if they are ready to launch a fatal blow to the enemy at any time; some warships carry They are armed with an elite jumping team, wearing light armor and holding short knives. Their movements are as strong as tigers descending from the mountain, ready to seize enemy ships at any time.

With an order, the artillery drill began. The artillery on the warship fired in unison, and the deafening sound of the artillery resounded throughout the sky. Although it was just a blank ammunition for training, in the eyes of the people on the south bank of the Yangtze River, every shelling seemed to be able to tear apart Split the air, making people feel the cruelty of war.

The most shocking thing is the simulation of jumping to seize a ship. It is a thrilling exercise. These warriors are as agile as apes and jump onto the enemy ship through hooks or boards, and fight to the death with the enemy. Every time they swing their swords, every time The charge is full of power and beauty, making people excited.

Obviously, this river ship review and water warfare exercise not only demonstrated the powerful strength of the Ming Dynasty's ocean fleet, but also inspired the patriotic enthusiasm of the people in South Zhili.

As the saying goes -

“Even the poorest patriot in London’s East End can’t help but puff out his chest at the thought of British wealth and industry.”

The Ming Dynasty is destined to become a global empire, and it is destined to reap the dividends of the Age of Discovery and the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, as a global empire, this spiritual trait must be deliberately cultivated and guided from the beginning, so that they can prepare for such a mighty army. I am proud to be a teacher and proud to live in such a powerful empire.

An obvious negative example is that when the Ming court in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life decided to stop his voyages to the West and burned all the materials, the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty had no idea about this matter at all.

This is mainly caused by two reasons.

The first aspect is that Zheng He's fleet was engaged in official monopoly trade, and all the money earned was used to spend on Zhu Di's grand plan. Not to mention that the common people could not get half a cent of the benefit, and even the ministers and civil servants had no profit. , so since you can't get any benefits, and it will even affect the private smuggling trade, it will be ruined if it is ruined.

The second aspect is the lack of publicity. Zheng He's voyages to the West were an extremely great undertaking, but the Ming court official did not have much publicity about it. This was mainly because it was contrary to Zhu Yuanzhang's maritime ban policy, so it could only be disguised as tribute. Providing a reason for the voyage to the West is tantamount to being both responsible and established. Naturally, it is difficult to publicize it. The result of not publicizing it is that the people have no idea what the significance of the voyage to the West is.

Jiang Xinghuo's change method is different. Under Jiang Xinghuo's plan, Zheng He's ocean fleet actually played the role of pathfinder and maintainer, and in terms of interests, it was "I make money and let others make money."

Zheng He's ocean-going fleet was responsible for opening up sea routes and opening up markets for the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade merchants through force and diplomacy. Then merchants from the Ming Dynasty could swarm in, and because now even the wealthy merchants do not have much power. It has the energy to transport a large amount of goods, and Zheng He's fleet has the exclusive right to sell a series of specialized products. Therefore, the profits shared by private merchants will basically not affect the benefits that Zheng He's fleet brings to the "shareholders" such as the noble clan and the royal family who originally invested. Benefit.

On the contrary, the more merchants participating in the routes opened and maintained by the Ming Dynasty, it means that the overall trade scale and domestic manufacturing demand will expand. At the same time, the Ming Dynasty can also collect more tariffs through the Shipping Department.

You must know that the Ming Dynasty did not just collect tariffs at several municipal shipping departments for local import and export, but also set up corresponding municipal shipping departments at Xuanwei Envoys such as Xingang and Manila, which are important business nodes in Nanyang. .

Nowadays, as long as the ships pass through the Strait of Malaka, first of all, you can't go back and forth without supplies at all, and as long as you supply supplies, except for the ports of the Majapahit Empire, which has no security at all, you can only choose to The ports of the Srivijaya Kingdom, Luzon Kingdom, Annan Kingdom, Champa Kingdom and other places under the control of the Ming Dynasty carry out supplies, and you have to pay taxes when entering the port; secondly, it is impossible for you not to sell goods and buy goods, and the same reason , Unless you go to Japan or North Korea, you have to pay taxes to Ming Dynasty wherever you go.

This is the hegemony of sea power. You have to pay taxes when crossing the strait, you have to pay taxes when you enter the port for supplies, and you have to pay taxes when buying and selling goods.

And this is also the necessity for Zheng He's fleet to establish the Ming Dynasty's sea power.

Promoting these things well and benefiting the people does not necessarily require them to engage in maritime trade, or even engage in the manufacturing of related goods. As long as they can obtain foreign goods at a low price and improve their living conditions, then the people will benefit. , which supports maritime trade and sea power.

This situation of benefiting the common people has been felt by the people of South Zhili with the influx of goods from Nanyang.

Others may require some economic strength, but one thing that ordinary people feel most clearly is the fruits sold on the market. Specialty fruits from Southeast Asia are shipped by fleet after fleet. They are not only delicious but also cheap.

The people of Southern Zhili, especially those in Nanjing City, can generally afford to consume fruits, and the satisfaction brought by the sweet and delicious taste of these cheap new types of fruits in their mouths is their appreciation of the Ming Empire's sea The most preliminary and most intuitive understanding of rights.

Things like ship reviews will further strengthen people's awareness of sea power and their pride in the Ming Dynasty.

This is beneficial to the entire reform.

Because only when they know how the reform brings wealth to the country and the people, will the people support the reform. And since most industries can benefit from this large trade system, the people will gradually become the actual beneficiaries of the reform. By.

When the entire Ming Dynasty, including the royal family, clans, nobles and other aristocratic classes, as well as some civil servants and merchants, and most of the people, could benefit from the maritime trade advocated by the reform, how could even the traditional conservative gentry and landlords oppose it? , also to no avail.

While watching the exercise, Zheng He tilted his head and said to Jiang Xinghuo: "The previous emperor of the Majapahit Empire passed away in the 22nd year of Hayan Wulu Hongwu. In fact, the Majapahit Empire was in his hands. It expanded and became stronger, but after his death, the current emperor Vikaramavahana, as the nephew and son-in-law of Hamam Vulu, did not have the authority of Hamam Vulu, and there have always been many forces in the country that were dissatisfied with him."

Haram Wulu was the eldest son of Empress Tribuwana, the third emperor of the Majapahit Empire. In the 10th year of the Yuan Dynasty, he was succeeded as emperor of the Majapahit Empire by his mother. He was basically of the same era as Zhu Yuanzhang. Character, and with the assistance of Prime Minister Gajah Mada, Hamam Vulu strengthened centralization internally, suppressed local separatist forces and rebel activities, and carried out large-scale expansion externally. He basically conquered the entire Indonesian archipelago, and his sphere of influence even Able to influence the Malay Peninsula and the Philippine Islands, the reign of Hamam Wulu is generally regarded as the golden age of the Majapahit Empire.

"Before, Vikaramavahana wanted to pass on the internal conflicts by conquering the Kingdom of Srivijaya, but because of the cooperation of Chen Zuyi and Liang Daoming, the old port was like a barrier blocking the Majapahit Empire, and the old port could not be defeated. They cannot conquer the old homeland of the Srivijaya Kingdom, and now that the old port has become a new port, in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, it is even more impossible for them to defeat the Ming Dynasty."

Jiang Xinghuo said thoughtfully: "So since we can't defeat the Ming Dynasty, there are many internal forces that are dissatisfied with it, and there is an invasion from the Kingdom of East Java to the east, Vikaramavahana has no choice but to ease relations with the Ming Dynasty, and then give priority to Let’s solve internal problems.”

"exactly."

Jiang Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He was well aware of the complex situation in the Nanyang region. Peaceful coexistence with the Majapahit Empire, even if it was temporary peace, was crucial to the Ming Empire's ocean trade. This was different from the Ming Dynasty and the Majapahit Empire. The principle of relations between the Timurid Khanate is the same.

Zheng He's voyage to the West not only brought back rich trade results, but also consolidated the Ming Dynasty's position in the Nanyang region. It was indeed very fruitful.

But these alone are obviously not enough.

"I plan to set up a West Tianzhu company."

"What does it do?" Zheng He was a little surprised.

He had heard about the joint-stock company. Now many businessmen have set up it in Nanzhili and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian. But in Zheng He's view, except that the distribution of interests is more clear and well-founded, it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

"West Tianzhu Company, as the name suggests, is a company that trades west of Tianzhu."

Jiang Xinghuo clasped his hands and looked at the exercise on the river that was coming to an end and said: "The initial investors of the company are the same as those who funded the voyage to the West. The royal family, clan, and nobles, the purpose is to strip your fleet of the It has non-military attributes, or sometimes it can have two brands. It is both the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going navy and the West Tianzhu Company's trading ship."

"In my vision, the West Tianzhu Company mainly serves as the Ming Dynasty's 'black glove' institution in the West. It is authorized by the Ming Dynasty court. While carrying out commercial activities, it also undertakes the task of colonial expansion and plunder. By establishing itself in the West trade networks and colonies to gain wealth.”

"At the same time, when the West Tianzhu Company becomes bigger and can achieve profits through the cycle of 'expansion-trade-colonization-re-expansion', then it can continue to issue additional shares and sell them through the platform of Daming Bank, which is the same as selling treasury bonds. , by raising funds from wealthy businessmen and ordinary people to obtain capital for continued expansion, rather than allocating funds from the Ministry of Household and internal funds, this can reduce the financial pressure on the country through financial means, and attract interested people to go overseas."

"That's a good idea."

Zheng He quickly figured it out. He said: "But there is still a problem, the Kingdom of Ceylon needs to be solved. The Kingdom of Ceylon is stuck between the entrance and exit on the west side of the Manrak Strait and South Tianzhu. The entire island country The country is maintained by collecting taxes and fees from merchant ships. At first, they wanted to collect tolls from the Ming Dynasty's fleet. If they hadn't been frightened by the size of the fleet, I'm afraid the small fleet would have actually collected the merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty. We won’t go beyond the Straits of Malacca, but we have to think about it later.”

"I told you that if we change the king, if it doesn't work, we will destroy the Ceylon royal family. As for the future."

Jiang Xinghuo rubbed his eyebrows and said: "The Kingdom of Ceylon is not a problem. It mainly has to deal with the hundreds of states in South Tianzhu. South Tianzhu is the main trading partner. It divides the world into four trade areas. The Western Ring The Mediterranean is a trading area; the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Mamluk Dynasty, the Aries Dynasty, and the Timurid Khanate are a trading area; the Northern Tianzhu represented by the Delhi Sultanate and hundreds of southern Tianzhu states are a trading area area; east of the Strait of Malacca is a trading area."

"The road must be walked step by step, and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time. The envoy of the Timur Khanate is about to arrive in Nanjing. The Ming Dynasty and the Timur Khanate have now lifted the state of war. When the peace trade agreement is signed, then you can Safely sail and supply supplies further west. I heard from Fu An that the Emperor of the Ottoman Empire, Bayezid I, really wanted to get along well with the Ming Dynasty. Calculating the time, Bayezid I should be returning to his country soon. It is estimated that Can we send an envoy to Ming Dynasty next year and arrive the year after that?"

"But the Ottoman Turkish Empire is not that important. If we want to deal directly with the Western countries, we have to bypass the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Byzantine Empire. So after taking care of the Kingdom of Ceylon and the South Tianzhu countries, your main task is to continue to the West. Go forward and win over the Mamluk Dynasty and the Aries Dynasty, especially the Aries Dynasty. Now that the Timur Khan is in civil strife, the Aries Dynasty has a strong centrifugal force. Then it will make a big circle along the coastline and reach the southernmost Kingdom of Spain in the west. There is Clavio, the royal envoy of the Kingdom of Spain, will go with you when the time comes.”

Zheng He had a map of the world in his mind, so he had no objection to Jiang Xinghuo's long-term plan. He immediately asked: "Where is Japan?"

"Japan is already making arrangements. It will take time to collect intelligence and instigate the hostile daimyo to rebel against the shogunate. Moreover, there are still many domestic reform policies that need to be continued."

Jiang Xinghuo calculated the time. After a year of war, the Ming Dynasty has no external troubles. It is autumn in the third year of Yongle and winter will soon come. The new year is the fourth year of Yongle. The most important thing in the fourth year of Yongle is , of course, the dust of the battle for the crown prince has settled.

Moreover, not only the army is exhausted this year, but the consumption of logistical supplies is also very serious. After all, more than 100,000 people went to the northern part of the Great Wall and were transferred to Guanzhong. This consumption is very staggering.

In addition, the past two years were the golden period for expanding the scale of the reform and cultivating internal strength, so all conditions did not allow for another large-scale war.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo felt that the timing of the cross-sea expedition, combined with the Mongolian lesson learned that "never cross the sea in the autumn against a typhoon", the spring and summer of the fourth year of Yongle were too hasty, and it was difficult to use troops in winter. It should be the fifth year of Yongle Spring and summer are more suitable.

As for how long the cross-sea expedition would take, Jiang Xinghuo was unsure.

Because there was no large-scale war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, not even hundreds of years ago, there is no very accurate reference for the war between the two sides. Even if it is a reference, only Jiang Xinghuo's previous life Wanli's Anti-Japanese Aid Korea can be used as a reference. refer to.

But it is not advisable to carve a boat and seek a sword. It is obviously inaccurate to compare the combat effectiveness of the two sides with the Wanli War to Resist Japan and Aid Korea. It is obvious that today's Japanese shogunate army has just finished fighting the Southern and Northern Dynasties and ended the civil war, and its combat effectiveness is not necessarily worse than the Japanese army under Toyotomi Hideyoshi. But now the Ming army, which has been tempered by the Battle of Jingnan and the northern and southern campaigns, is definitely several levels stronger than the Ming army in the Wanli era. There is no doubt about this.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo can conclude that once a war begins, the Ming army will definitely have the upper hand. As long as they can make sufficient preparations for logistics, intelligence, and sea crossing, they will not be like the Mongols who foolishly crossed the sea in the autumn and were blown away by a typhoon. Personally, if I can make a comeback, at least I will have no problem landing and developing deep into the Japanese archipelago.

But having said that, judging from the comprehensive judgment of population and military strength, Japan is, after all, one of the top five countries in the world today and firmly ranked second in the entire East Asia, and the actual leader of Japan today is Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. A generation of heroes, there are many generals under the shogunate who are capable of fighting. The Ming Dynasty's cross-sea conquest of Japan is definitely not the same war of cruelty as the conquest of Annan. How do you say that you still have to be a little more careful? Strategically, despise the enemy, but tactically, we must pay attention to the enemy.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo was not sure how far the war would go and how long the Muromachi shogunate would be able to resist.

He could only estimate the worst-case scenario. Once a tug-of-war broke out in Kansai, it would be normal for the fight to last three to five years, which meant that Ming must continue to invest and make adequate preparations in advance.

Of course, having said that, it is not impossible for a wave of decisive battles to end within a year. After all, the Japanese also like to engage in "joint wars". Although they are a feudal system, they do not have a tactical tradition of gradual resistance. I really like to decide the outcome with one wave, that would definitely be in line with Daming's wishes.

So Jiang Xinghuo calculated the time and said to Zheng He conservatively.

"Just go west. When you come back from the west for the first time, you will be just in time to cross the sea and conquer the sun."