Chapter 136: Ming Dynasty’s national strength increases; Yan Song sets his eyes on Japan’s silver mountains!
"Your servant Lu Fang, respectfully reports... to His Majesty the Master... Prince Yu's Mansion has good news... His Royal Highness Prince Yu wishes to ask the immortals for blessings..."
Outside Yuxi Palace, Lu Fang prayed respectfully.
Before, the master had instructed that if there were important matters, we should pray outside Yuxi Palace every day.
His Royal Highness Prince Yu has a child. Logically speaking, this should not be a big deal since he is not the crown prince after all.
But the current internal situation of the Ming Dynasty is that Prince Yu and Prince Jing are competing for the crown prince, and anyone with a discerning eye can see it.
At this time, Prince Jing still did not make any move. Instead, Prince Yu's Mansion wanted to add heirs first. This might have some impact on the future situation. Moreover, if it was a baby boy, he would be the grandson of the dragon.
Now the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department know about the cultivation of immortals, and they all know about the position of crown prince. I am afraid that there will be major changes in the future.
However, the six ministries and officials below them were unaware of this. Even the previous incident of the immortal’s arrival had become a thing of the past with the great changes in the officialdom, and had become an interesting story in the writings of historians.
That’s right, just like when Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, fought against the traitor Wang Mang, it became a miracle of divine help.
Therefore, these officials are still trapped in secular struggles. Previously, both sides were still afraid because the officialdom had just been cleaned up, so they just waited and watched, and did not dare to take a clear stand.
But now, Prince Yu suddenly had a child, which made a different situation. All the officials began to become agitated.
Xu Jie and others also took this opportunity to start building momentum for Prince Yu.
Although they are uncertain about the future, they still support Prince Yu now, and of course the same goes for Yan Song.
"Lv Fang." Just as Lv Fang was praying, Jiajing's calm voice suddenly rang in his heart.
"Master?!" Lu Fang was stunned at first, and then immediately knelt on the ground, "This servant respectfully welcomes the master, the emperor!"
Ever since the last time when the Cabinet and the Imperial Household Department conferred titles on immortal officials next to the Lingtian courtyard, Lu Fang knew that his master's cultivation must have become much more profound.
After all, the master would never communicate like this across the air before.
"I have heard your prayer," Jiajing said, "Tell Prince Yu that no matter whether it is a boy or a girl, they are both the heirs of the Ming Dynasty. Do not favor a boy over a girl and despise her."
Judging from the course of later history, the child born to Prince Yu's concubine Li was undoubtedly the future Zhu Yijun.
But thinking about the fact that the Ming Dynasty had already embarked on a different path, the most important thing was that after Prince Yu started to cultivate immortality, if he had an offspring, it was hard to say whether it would be a boy or a girl.
If I say it's a boy, and then it turns out not to be a boy, wouldn't that be a disgrace to me?
Of course, he could also directly use the imperial seal to pull Li's consciousness into his own Ming Dynasty to check.
But first of all, Li had just become pregnant not long ago, and it was impossible to see anything at this time. Secondly, there was no need to do so.
"Yes," Lu Fang heard Jiajing say, and immediately said respectfully: "Master, you are kind, I will go and report to Prince Yu later."
"Stand up and answer the question." Seeing that Lu Fang's cultivation level had not changed and he was still in the first stage of Qi training, Jiajing was not surprised. "Besides this matter, has anything else happened?"
Lu Fang broke through the first level of Qi training in the first month of the 41st year of Jiajing. It is only November now, which is only ten months. If he wants to break through the second level of Qi training, it will probably take at least a year or two.
"My Lord, yes," Lu Fang paused, as if recalling what had happened in the court during this period of time, "There haven't been any major changes in the court."
"The national policy of stationing troops and promoting agriculture in the north has stabilized, and the guard system of the entire border has basically begun to recover."
"In the Zhejiang region, the pilot project of replacing rice with mulberry trees has also begun. The silk sold to Western countries is also sold at the previously determined price. This part of the money is used to recruit soldiers..."
"The north is stable, and the military strength in the south has greatly increased." After a moment's silence, Lu Fang said, "Considering that the two factions may deploy to Japan and the surrounding areas in the future, the military strength in the southeast region may increase dramatically..."
"In addition, after the implementation of the One Whip Law for land reform, according to your previous amendments to the One Whip Law, the head tax was abolished and tax was levied based on the acreage of land, plus there was a three-year tax exemption. The burden on the people was greatly reduced, and the national population increased a lot within a year."
"Well, the Ministry of Household Affairs plans to conduct a population census at the end of the year..."
Hearing this, Jiajing nodded secretly and everything developed according to his plan.
When Prince Yu first proposed the Single Whip Law, he made some modifications to it, abolishing the head tax and levying it based on the amount of land.
To put it bluntly, this is actually the "equalization of land tax" that appeared in later generations.
And this "equalizing the land tax" was also derived from the Single Whip System, but according to the original history of later generations, it was most appropriate for the Ming Dynasty to implement the Single Whip System, and one of the main reasons was financial.
The biggest cost of implementing the "tax distribution per land" policy is the finances. However, the Ming Dynasty now has more than 56 million in its finances. Excluding the three years of tax exemption, there are still tens of millions left to support it.
Therefore, Jiajing simply modified the "taxation on each mu" that was derived from the "One Whip Law" in later generations. One of the purposes of doing so was to greatly accelerate the growth of population.
Lu Fang continued to report.
"With the increase in population, there are food problems. By the 42nd year of Jiajing, the new grains nourished by spiritual energy given by the master before his retreat will be ready for use." Speaking of the new grains, Lu Fang showed a bright smile on his face.
"Before the master went into seclusion, he bestowed upon him new grains. After a year of research, Wenfu has been reporting on the per-acre yield of experimental fields in various places. The numbers have now been released and were quickly sent to the cabinet not long ago."
Upon hearing about the yield per mu of new grain seeds grown by mortals, which came from the world of immortal cultivation and was bestowed upon them by Jiajing before his retreat, he also became interested.
Without him asking, Lu Fang began to report with excitement on her face.
"According to the statistics reported by Wen Fu Jin Yi Wei, the three new grains, among which 'golden grain' has an annual yield of about 12 dan per mu, 'sweet potato' has an annual yield of about 70 dan per mu, and 'yellow taro' has an annual yield of about 50 dan per mu."
(Note: Golden grains, sweet potatoes, and yellow taro are fictional in this book and do not need to be associated with similar crops on Earth.)
"Master, from now on, the people of our Ming Dynasty will no longer face food crises. According to the original plan, prosperity will come within three years!"
Hearing Lu Fang's words, Jiajing couldn't help but say "OK" and couldn't help but smile.
As an emperor, who wouldn't want his country to be prosperous? Well, that time would be the "Jiajing Prosperity"!
"Ha," thinking of what Hai Rui said before about every household being clean, Jiajing felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.
"Master, do you want to control the Qingliu and Yandang factions and expand the military forces in the southeast?" At this time, Lu Fang's voice sounded again, "Although the court is rich now, in order to ensure that everything is stable and there is no chaos within three years, I am worried..."
"Are you worried that the excess military force will become a burden on the finances as the population grows?" Jiajing asked.
"Master Sheng Ming!" This is what Lu Fang was worried about.
"This involves the second stage of land reform," Jiajing said, "My two sons are now planning to expand into Japan and even the neighboring countries of Ming Dynasty. There is no need to worry about excess military force."
"My master is far-sighted, and it is I who am short-sighted." Lu Fang said respectfully.
"Master, there is one more thing," Lv Fang said, "a month ago, it seems that Japanese pirates were causing trouble along the southeast coast."
When Jiajing heard about the Japanese pirates, there was no surprise on his face.
If there were no Japanese pirates, that would be a problem. Now the Japanese pirates are basically controlled by the Yan Party and the Qingliu.
When needed, they will come out and operate on the sea; when not needed, they will disappear completely.
It's completely the black gloves of the two factions.
Suddenly, Japanese pirates started causing trouble, and when we thought about the two factions' plotting against Japan, everything made sense.
Jiajing didn't say anything, and Lu Fang continued to report.
"Ever since Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty and were received by Prince Yu and Prince Jing, who were in charge of the cabinet, the Ming Dynasty began to officially support Owari and Kai."
"In early October of the 41st year of the Jiajing reign, a fleet of ships departing from Hangzhou Bay carrying a batch of muskets was looted by Japanese pirates."
"According to the news sent back, the looters are entrenched in the Japanese island," Lu Fang said, frowning as if recalling something, "According to the Japanese side, they are a group of pirates on the Tōkaidō... Yes, a group of pirates on the 'Dragon Scale Island' southeast of the Tōkaidō."
(Note: The Five Regions and Seven Circuits refer to the administrative divisions of ancient Japan. The forces currently appearing in this book, such as Kai Province and Owari Province, are all forces in Tōkaidō. Other regions will be written about later, such as the well-known 'Iwami Ginzan'.)
"The pirate lord of this 'Dragon Scale Island' is named Fujiwara Kaitaro."
"Later, in late October, a batch of firearms departing from Taizhou Port were also looted by another group of pirates entrenched in Xiangyun Island, south of the 'Tokaido'. The lord was named Hojo Fuuxiang."
"According to the reports from the Jinyiwei in the Yan Mansion and His Royal Highness Prince Yu's Mansion, this Fujiwara Taro and Hojo Fengxiang are actually Mao Haifeng and Xu Yuanliang, the capable men in Wang Zhi's fleet back then."
"Before the Southeast was cleaned up, the Japanese pirates along the coast were eliminated, and these two also fled far away at sea and are nowhere to be found."
"Now it seems that they have been conquered by the two factions."
"From the secret reports we have collected, Mao Haifeng has now been recruited by the Xu Jie family in Songjiang Prefecture and has changed his name to 'Fujiwara Taro'"
"Xu Yuanliang should have been subjugated by the Yan Party. To be precise, this person originally obeyed the Yan Party."
"Now he's using the alias 'Hojo Fusho'." "Yan Song and Xu Jie are both smart people," Jiajing knew roughly what the two factions were thinking after listening for a while, "Owari and Kai are both in Tokaido, they won't really let Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen become really powerful."
"Do you want to give a warning?" Lu Fang asked tentatively after hearing Jiajing's words.
Firearms are very important, and Lu Fang still cares about it a little.
However, it is just a concern. With the means that the master currently possesses, it is effortless to suppress a mere mortal.
"No need." Jiajing naturally understood Lü Fan's concerns. He was worried that the Yan Party and the Qingliu would become powerful by smuggling firearms at sea. "Yan Song and Xu Jie know very well what they are doing."
"Let's see what they can do to that tiny place."
"It will take some time for me to come out, but at the latest I should come out around the 43rd year of Jiajing. You should keep a close eye on me inside and outside the court." Jiajing must wait until he has established his foundation before returning to the Ming Dynasty.
At that time, the Ming Dynasty was showing its fangs to the world and preparing to officially enter the Immortal Dynasty.
"Yes, I will take good care of Ming Dynasty for my master." Lu Fang said respectfully.
After saying this, seeing that Jiajing did not speak for a long time, Lu Fang knew that his master should have left. After saying goodbye to his master, he stood up and walked out of Yuxi Palace.
"Grandfather." Outside Yuxi Palace, two trusted eunuchs from the East Factory immediately came forward to greet Lu Fang when they saw him coming out.
"You," Lu Fang casually pointed at a young eunuch, "go to Prince Yu's mansion and tell Prince Yu that the master said..."
Then, Lu Fang repeated what Jiajing had just said about the royal heir and asked the eunuch to pass a message to Prince Yu.
"Yes." The young eunuch received the order and left the palace immediately.
……
Prince Yu’s Mansion, in the main hall.
Xu Jie, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Zhao Zhenji, Wang Yongji and others sat in order of importance.
In the middle of the hall, there was still a long table, on which was placed a map, some writing instruments, and documents.
"On the ninth day of the lunar month, I reported the matter of the heir to the throne to the palace," Prince Yu took a sip of the spiritual tea, "It's already been the twentieth day, eleven days, and the emperor still hasn't given any instructions."
"The emperor is in seclusion for cultivation," Zhang Juzheng was the first to speak after hearing Prince Yu start the conversation. "Wang Ziyi of the Yuan Dynasty wrote in his book "Mistakenly Entering Peach Blossom Spring": Seven days in the mountains is a thousand years in the world."
"The Emperor seems to be still in seclusion."
Someone started a conversation, Prince Yu nodded, and then continued: "Not long ago, Xu Yuanliang robbed a batch of firearms and food that Yan's party sent to Oda Nobunaga."
"What do you think?" asked Prince Yu.
"Kai Province was ruled by Takeda Shingen, and Owari Province was ruled by Oda Nobunaga. These two are the largest forces in Japan's Tōkaidō," Xu Jie put down the teacup in his hand and said slowly:
"The Tokaido Road is located in the central part of Japan."
As Xu Jie spoke, he stood up and walked to the long table, pointing to the map of Japan placed in the middle and the direction of the Tokaido.
"We support Takeda Shingen of Kai Province, and the Yan Party supports Oda Nobunaga of Owari Province."
As he spoke, Xu Jie pointed to two places on the map. The others listened and nodded.
"In the 1560th year of Jiajing (), Oda Nobunaga killed Imagawa Yoshimoto. After Imagawa Yoshimoto's death, the Imagawa family was inherited by his son, Imagawa Ujizane!"
As Xu Jie spoke, a calculating gleam in his eyes.
"Suruga, Totomi, and Mikawa, the three countries originally ruled by the Imagawa family, have basically been out of control in the past two years."
At this time, Zhao Zhenji also spoke up and said, "This Imagawa Ujizane is an incompetent person, a fool."
The others also nodded. As Prince Yu listened, his mind gradually became clear about the major forces in Japan's Tōkaidō.
"Among them, the Tokugawa family and the Oda family are allies." Xu Jie pointed to the Tokugawa family and the Oda family which were close to each other on the map.
"The Tokugawa family has basically taken control of Mikawa Province now."
"It can be said that there is a clear hatred between the Imagawa family and the Owari and Mikawa provinces."
"We openly support Takeda Shingen, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to face the two major families, Oda and Tokugawa, who are supported by the Yan Party."
"So, we must secretly support another puppet..." Xu Jie pointed to the Imagawa family on the map and said, "Let Mao Haifeng and the others support Imagawa Ujizane."
"Imagawa Ujizane and Takeda Shingen should form an alliance to counter the Yan Party or head eastwards to divide up the entire Japan."
"As for the west, leave it to the Yan Party," Xu Jie exhaled lightly, and said, "Our ultimate goal is to divide Japan, so the biggest possibility in the early stage is to guard against the Yan Party while eradicating other forces and let Japan consume itself internally..."
"I'm afraid the Yan Party won't cooperate..." Gao Gong was full of disgust and prejudice towards the Yan Party.
"Yan Song is an old fox. He knows how to maximize his benefits." Xu Jie said, "Our deployment is all in the east. If he is smart, he won't do something that is thankless."
"The Emperor must be aware of our actions. If we engage in meaningless fights overseas and waste the financial and military resources of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor will absolutely not allow it."
"That's right," Zhang Juzheng nodded. "We can fight, but if it's meaningless and fruitless, then when the time comes, no one will be able to reap the rewards!"
While the Qingliu party was making arrangements for Japan, the Yan party was also quietly making arrangements.
In the study room of Yan Mansion.
"Dad, I'm afraid our recent actions will be noticed by Qingliu," Yan Shifan said to Yan Song who was looking at the map of Japan in the study, "What should we do next?"
"What do you think?" Yan Song asked without raising his head.
"Our goal is definitely not to kill Qingliu," Yan Shifan looked at the map and thought with his head down, "If the emperor knew that we were mainly used for internal fighting in Japan, he would definitely punish us."
Listening to his son's analysis, Yan Song raised his eyes and said approvingly, "Not bad, continue."
Yan Shifan can now put interests first and no longer gets angry like a cat whose tail is stepped on when encountering a clean stream. This makes Yan Song very pleased, thinking that this kid has finally become more stable.
"Xiangyun Island is inhabited by our people, controlled by Xu Yuanliang. It is to the west of Longlin Island. The Japanese pirates who fled to Japan are mainly deployed in the west." Yan Shifan said, taking a deep breath, taking a step forward and raising his hand to draw a line between Oda and Takeda.
"The west belongs to us, and the east will be given to them!"
"Hehe," Yan Song couldn't help laughing as he leaned over to look at the map, "Not bad, but you've overlooked one point."
"Hmm?" Yan Shifan was stunned and looked at his father, "What do you mean?"
"At the beginning, Wang Zhi's fleet had a powerful fleet in addition to Mao Haifeng and Xu Yuanliang."
"Xu Weixue," Yan Song pointed to the westernmost part of the map, "he went to Aki Province where Sanyo Road is located. The current owner of Aki Province is the Mori family!"
"The point I want to make is that there is a silver mountain in Izumo Province, which is adjacent to Aki Province. Izumo Province belongs to the Amago family..." Yan Song was speaking when he was suddenly interrupted by Yan Shifan's exclamation.
"Silver Mountain?!"
"That's right!" Yan Song nodded. "But now, according to the news from Xu Weixue, since Nizi Haruhisa died in the 39th year of Jiajing, Izumo Kingdom can't hold out for much longer against Mori Motonari. It's estimated to be three to four years, provided that the Ming Dynasty does not interfere..."
"So, this silver mountain basically belongs to the Maori family..."
"Dad, this silver mountain belongs to my Yan family!" Yan Song was interrupted by Yan Shifan before he could finish his words.
Yan Song: “…”
"I plan to seek support from the Nishikawa family, or find another family to control it, so that the silver mountain can be in my hands." Yan Song ignored his son whose eyes were flashing with greed.
"Do you think it's better to support the Niko family or find another small family?"
"..."
There is more to update. I will update after having a meal~
(End of this chapter)
