Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 283: Alarm in the Southeast (Part 2)
"Yes, according to the conclusions drawn by our spies who have been lurking in Ming for many years and after careful calculations, maritime trade is very important to Ming. In this era, because of the addition of drugs such as penicillin and streptomycin, the amount of silver flowing into Ming from all over the world every year is basically no less than 10 million double pillars. Kaiyang is the controller of this trade in Ming. It is said that he and his men can get at least 3 million yuan in profit from it every year.
Moreover, in addition to these profits, maritime trade is also of great significance to the rich Ming Dynasty. Without maritime trade, the silk, porcelain, tea and other bulk commodities of the Ming Dynasty would have to be dumped internally, which would bring serious economic problems to the Ming Dynasty.
At the same time, the blockade of maritime trade can also cause the collapse of Kaiyang's so-called "Ming Dynasty Maritime Trade". In this way , Kaiyang will lose his economic ally..."
"His Majesty the King of Thailand is very calculating! In this way, even if Kaiyang has a lot of domestic affairs, he must send out a fleet to fight for control of the sea!"
"That's right, and that's when it's time for your country to get involved."
"Well..." After Luo Zhifu described the whole plan, Tokugawa Yoshinao stood up, paced around in the small cabin for a few times, and then sat down again and said, "Your Majesty, I only have 3,000 new troops under my direct command. Of course, these 3,000 people are all from the hatamoto samurai. On the battlefield, they can easily defeat 100,000 of the ordinary Japanese daimyo's peasant soldiers and foot soldiers. But no matter what, if I want Japan to organize an army of more than 100,000 to invade Korea again, I still need the support and help of the daimyo from all over Japan. And if I want these bastards to help, I have to use both coercion and inducement."
"I understand bribery very well. Our country has had a bumper harvest every year in recent years. We can provide Mr. Tokugawa with at least 10,000 tons of rice in advance, which is enough for your 100,000 troops to eat for three or four months! After you get this batch of rice, doesn't your shogunate control the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mine? If your country sends troops to Korea, I guarantee that I will provide you with at least 10,000 tons of refined rice every year. In short, gold, silver and rice, this bribe is enough. But what about coercion?"
"I plan to go back and gather a few powerful outer daimyo, such as Date Masamune, Shimazu Tadatsune, Mori Terumoto, Maeda Toshitsugu, etc., to hear their opinions. If they agree, I will let them be the vanguard, and if they disagree, I will ask them to drink poisoned wine - anyway, our bodies are not afraid of poison."
"General, you should have done this a long time ago. So, what next? As far as I know, your country was defeated by Ming in Korea more than ten years ago. Are they willing to invade Korea again at this time?"
"Your Majesty, the situation in Japan is a little bit more special than your country. Although our country is a samurai regime, it is actually very similar to the feudal system in Europe. There is only so much land, and the human fertility is so strong. Since Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the regent in 1585, there have been no major wars in Japan except for the Battle of Sekigahara and the Battle of Osaka. Now, after more than 30 years, there are too many samurai who cannot inherit the territories of their fathers and brothers. These guys themselves have to find something to do, otherwise they will be a destabilizing factor in society. Therefore, as long as there is enough coercion and inducement, it will not be difficult to organize an army to invade Korea again."
"Okay, so Mr. Tokugawa means to send 100,000 of your country's old-style troops to conquer Korea first?"
"Yes, although our country's old-style army has various problems, it can still easily defeat the North Korean army. I still need some time to train and expand our new army. With our manpower, we can train at least 100,000 new troops. The 3,000 new troops I have now are all trained according to the standards of officers. Through them, I can complete the expansion of the army in a year at most."
"Okay, so our basic schedule is set. In the second half of 1616, I will attack Burma first. I plan to send troops in September and try to withdraw them in November. After that, before March 1617, I will take over the Mekong Delta and close the Strait of Malacca. In April, I will send the main force to attack the Ming mainland. By then, the Ming will definitely send its main force south."
"Then Japan's goal is to launch a thunderous attack and attack Korea again after Ming's navy and some of its elite troops are pinned down by your country!"
"I will contact Philip of Spain. As long as your army attacks Korea, the Spanish Manila Fleet will work together with your fleet to compete with the Ming Navy for control of the East China Sea."
"Well, once the Ming navy is tied up in the north by us, the Siamese navy can use the Mekong Delta as a base to go north and harass Guangdong, Fujian, and even Zhejiang in the Ming!"
"Yes, compared with the Ming Dynasty, the foundations of our two countries are too weak. Don't even think about occupying or dividing the Ming Dynasty. All we can do is harass and suppress the other side. Make the people of the Ming Dynasty dissatisfied with Kaiyang, and promote the rapid growth of the opposition. Then rely on the opposition in the Ming Dynasty to get rid of Kaiyang! By that time, the world should have entered the steam age, and the Ming Dynasty will become our raw material supplier and the world's largest dumping market..."
"Yoshi! His Majesty the King of Thailand's words really make my blood boil!"
…
After the two guys had some fantasies, they finally calmed down. Then they both felt a little embarrassed about their fantasies.
"I'm ashamed. It's been sixteen years since I traveled here, but the bad habits of a 2D guy before I traveled here seem to have not been completely shed."
"Same, same, I studied agriculture before I traveled through time. But in Southeast Asia, if you throw a fruit core anywhere, it will grow and bear fruit... So I am also a poor man... It seems that it is common for poor people to be imaginative..."
“Hahahaha~~~”
After laughing awkwardly for a while, Luo Zhifu said seriously: "Speaking of the opposition of the Ming Dynasty, I am not very familiar with the history of East Asia during this period, but I also know that in the original history, it was the Manchus in the northeast of the Ming Dynasty who destroyed the Ming Dynasty..."
"Hey, this Manchu is the present-day Jurchen. Their leader Nurhaci had just founded the country when Kaiyang personally led his army to destroy it. For this, I also lost a lot of things... What I can't understand is that Kaiyang actually released Yagyu Munenori."
"Mr. Tokugawa, you have to be careful with such people! On the positive side, he has intuitively felt the military might of the Ming Dynasty and is familiar with the geography and climate of the northeast of the Ming Dynasty. He will be a good guide in the future. But I am afraid that he has lost his courage or has been won over by the Ming Dynasty."
"Uh... Thank you, Your Majesty, the King of Thailand, for the reminder. I will pay attention to it."
"So, what about the Jurchens now? It seems they haven't been exterminated?"
"Indeed, I haven't, but I've lost my nerve. I have sent people many times to contact the various Jurchen tribes in the Songnen Plain, but the leaders of each of them arrested my envoys and sent them to Beijing!"
"It doesn't matter. When we deal a certain blow to the Ming Dynasty and the domestic situation becomes tight, these people will still be our helpers."
"That's true."
"So, Mr. Tokugawa, what about the Mongols due north of Ming?"
"Uh, I'm very sorry. Due to the distance, we haven't been able to get in touch yet."
"Now that Mr. Tokugawa is the general, I suggest you increase your strength and try to contact the Mongols. After all, the Ming Dynasty is too big for us, and we must gather all the forces we can find. Just like my country, in recent years, we have contacted She Chongming and An Bangyan in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty..."
You also said that you don't know about East Asian history during this period? I guess many Chinese in the 21st century don't know about the She'an Rebellion? However, the ethnic minorities in southern China are less aggressive and have weaker combat power. Even if we contact these guys and trigger the She'an Rebellion in advance, the effect will be very limited.
After finishing his inner complaints, Tokugawa Yoshinao raised his head and smiled slightly: "My country has done a lot of things in recent years. In addition to contacting the Jurchens, we also contacted the Donglin Party of the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, facing a time traveler who is familiar with the history of his own country, Kaiyang can be said to have always been wary and even prejudiced against Donglin. And the Donglin Party is a group of people who can only talk but not do practical things... Hey, more than a year ago, I reminded them that Kaiyang is immune to all poisons, and it would be best for them to bring my ninjas into the palace to assassinate Kaiyang directly. As a result, they didn't believe what I said, and said that the Gelsemium poison they made was unsolvable in the world... Now that Donglin has been swept away, it will be really difficult to assassinate him again!"
"Ah~~" The two of them sighed helplessly, and after looking at each other, they saw despair and determination in each other's eyes.
"We can't wait any longer. Sixteen years have passed. Kaiyang has slowly eliminated the opposition within the Ming Dynasty one by one, and domestic problems are also being solved one by one. If we don't take action now, then there's really no need to take action! In 1616, that is, this year, we must start!"
"Okay! Your Majesty, let's establish a regular contact system starting today. If nothing else, regarding the dispatch of troops, the dates should not differ too much from each other. This way, Kaiyang will not be able to focus on one thing and lose another, and you and I can share the pressure!"
"agree!"
