Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 334 The Use of Fugitives
The meeting was over and all the ministers left, but Zhu Youdong left Tian Ergeng alone.
"Are you still in touch with the brothers in the 'Haichang Society' that you founded in Yuegang, Fujian?"
"Yes, after I returned to your highness's service, I made arrangements for all my brothers. Some joined Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi, some directly joined the Jinyiwei, and a few still made a living on the sea as sea merchants."
"Hmm..." After standing up and pacing for a few times, Zhu Youdong said, "Go down and think about it. Look at what you have. Hmm, it's not limited to your brothers in the Haichang Society. In short, can you find a few people to contact the Spanish without telling the Japanese and Siamese pirates?"
"Spaniards? Your Highness, do you want to divide and conquer the three thieves?"
"That's right."
Nodding, Zhu Youdong motioned Tian Ergeng to find a place to sit down, and then said: "Spain and our Ming Dynasty are thousands of miles apart. At least for now, there is no direct conflict of interest. The reason why their king has made great efforts to support it is because if our Ming Dynasty defeats Japan and Siam, our Ming Dynasty will dominate East Asia. This poses a threat to its colony on Luzon Island and seriously affects its trade in the East... However, the Spanish mainland is too far away from our Ming Dynasty. If they want to deploy their power here, they need to pay a huge amount of resources. Moreover, the national strength of a country is limited after all. If they deploy too much to our Ming Dynasty, their homeland and their vast colonies will lack the power to guard them."
"So, we can actually talk to Spain?"
"Yes."
Although he told Tian Ergeng that the Ming Dynasty could negotiate with Spain, Zhu Youdong's inner thought was to weaken or even undermine the fighting spirit of the Spanish commanders in the name of peace talks.
Over the years, thanks to the Jesuits in Macau, Zhu Youdong has a good understanding of the situation in Europe. In his opinion, the two Spanish travelers have done a very good job! Although the leader Philip is a little more academic, he is indeed a wise leader.
Such a time traveler can definitely see the long term, and can definitely understand that the Ming Dynasty is the ultimate opponent of Spain.
But even if you can see it clearly, what does it matter? It's 1617 now, and it's been less than a year since the time when the historical plane was thrown out of the window - don't even mention your religious reconciliation. The Roman Catholic Church is now rotten from top to bottom, and the religious feuds in the past few years were as cruel as genocide. So many years of grievances and hatreds, plus the current Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand of the Austrian Habsburg family, is a foolish idiot... So many things, can you, a time traveler, completely solve them with unity and reconciliation? If it were that simple, I would have created a yellow book library, so that it wouldn't have been ten years later and it hasn't been completely completed.
Therefore, within one or two years, a European war will surely break out, and even without the French stirring up trouble, it will not last for thirty years. But it will be enough to occupy a lot of your energy.
Well, on one hand, you are distracted by a lot of energy, and on the other hand, I take the initiative to propose peace talks. At this time, your ministers must want to be friendly with my Ming Dynasty. Under the premise that you, a time traveler, cannot expose yourself, how do you appease your ministers?
Although if the Ming Dynasty builds warships without regard to cost and quality like it did just now, I am not afraid even if your Spanish Manila Fleet joins in. However, we should still try our best to do things that can weaken the enemy.
"Your Highness." Tian Ergeng thought for a while: "I have such a person in my hands, and because of the existence of Macau, it is not difficult to contact the Spaniards. However, what ?"
"Simple, the Spanish will withdraw from this war completely. As long as the red barbarians in Macau pay their rent on time, I will not expel them, no matter if they are Spanish or Portuguese. Secondly, as long as they do not abuse or even massacre the people of our Ming Dynasty living on the island in Luzon, I will not attack Luzon in the future. Thirdly, as long as they pay for the goods of our Ming Dynasty honestly, I will sell them to them at the pre-war price no matter how much the price increases when they resell them to Europe, and I will guarantee that they will not resell them to other European countries."
"I understand. I will start working on this matter right away."
"Okay, but remember, we are at war now. If this news gets out, it will have a huge impact on morale. By then, even if Zhang Shize controls the six major newspapers, it will probably be difficult to control public opinion..."
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. This matter will be carried out within a very small scope. If there is any problem, it will be your humble servant who negotiated for peace in private. All the blame will be borne by me."
"Ha~" Zhu Youdong patted Tian Ergeng on the shoulder after laughing softly: "I don't like playing the emperor's mind game, nor do I like to throw the ministers out alone when something goes wrong. Go and do it well. If there is a problem, I will shoulder it with you."
Tian Ergeng left gratefully. Zhu Youdong called Fang Zhenghua in and asked him to rub his shoulders: "When will Zhao Lujiao arrive?"
"Young Master, I sent someone to General Zhao's base after the meeting just now. I think it should be here soon."
"Well, let's take a break for now." Zhu Youdong closed his eyes and sighed, "Any news from Ciqing Palace? My father's concubines have no complaints about sending my brothers and sisters to Tianjin for internship, right?"
"Young Master, speaking of this, there are definitely complaints. But under the suppression of the Crown Princess, these complaints cannot leave Ciqing Palace."
"That's good. Hey, the descendants of the Zhu family really can't be raised like pigs like before. Sooner or later, they will understand that what I'm doing is good for my brothers and sisters, and for their future."
Fang Zhenghua had no way of responding to this, and the huge conference hall suddenly fell into silence.
However, this silence did not last long. After a few minutes, Zhao Lujiao came to the door to ask for a meeting.
"Your Highness, I, Zhao Lujiao, pay my respects to you."
"Well, General Zhao, please excuse me. Um, you know that I asked you to be the commander of the Third Army, right?"
"Yes, I am on my way here, and the eunuch who delivered the message has already told me."
"Okay, then what do you think of my appointment?"
"I dare to express my own speculation."
"Well, you tell me."
"Yes, Your Highness. I think that in today's war, before the navy opened up the situation, even if I led 45,000 new troops to Fujian, I would only be helpless in the face of the sea. And if the navy defeated the enemy fleet, it would be too extravagant for me to take Taiwan with my troops."
"so what?"
"So I presumptuously speculated on your Highness's thoughts. I think your Highness not only wants to repel the invasion of the Japanese pirates, but also wants to land on the Japanese mainland. And my army will go to an island like Taiwan that is surrounded by the sea. We must be familiar with the local climate and train the entire army to be an elite force that can fight on land and withstand the wind and waves on the sea!"
"Hahaha~ Well said! Are you confident?"
"Well... ten years ago, Your Highness selected me from the army. Since then, my life has belonged to Your Highness. Therefore, as long as Your Highness tells me to do something, I will do it with my life and soul. However, I am from Shaanxi and only learned to swim when I arrived at Jingjiang Island. The two generals under my command are from Liaodong and Shanxi respectively. Therefore, if Your Highness approves, please transfer a general from the south to me."
"Yes, Fang Zhenghua."
"The servant is here."
"Go to the Ministry of War later and find the Grand Marshal and ask him to be in charge of mobilizing troops. Well, the Third Army's main mission is still land warfare, and the naval warfare will be undertaken by the fleet that will escort them to land in Japan in the future. Therefore, the rank of the naval commander does not need to be too high, just limit it to below the garrison level."
"Yes, I will obey your command."
"Also, Zhao Shuai."
"I am here."
"I have a lot of Japanese soldiers in Taihu Lake. I heard a few days ago that the Tokugawa family sent troops to Korea. Sanada Yukimura and others sent me several letters, asking me to send them to Liaodong, but I stopped them all. These people are prepared for you."
"Thank you, Your Highness. Please rest assured. With the help of these Japanese, I am more confident about what will happen next."
After arranging this matter, Zhu Youdong stood up and looked at Zhao Lujiao seriously.
Zhao Lujiao was 48 years old this year. Although he was a little older, he was a soldier after all. His muscular body was still in good shape, and the armor fit him perfectly without any bloated feeling.
In terms of history, his performance was generally to flee from the battlefield in the early stage, and to fight desperately in the later stage until he died heroically. Zhu Youdong did not want to delve into the reasons for such contradictory performance. But one of the important points is that when he came under Sun Chengzong, all the previous unbearable things disappeared instantly.
So, this person has been in Henghaiwei for so many years, and he has been influenced enough. Then he is sent to Fujian to partner with Sun Chengzong. Well, that's good.
"That's it, General Zhao. Do your best. If you succeed in the future, I will give you another reward."
"I will obey your orders and live up to your trust!"
