Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 424 Cabinet Deliberations

Liu Ye summoned Shimazu Mitsuhisa and asked with a cold smile, "Shimazu Mitsuhisa, do you know that your leniency towards your subordinates almost cost you your own life, as well as the lives of your domain and your people? If the massacre of Taizhou Prefecture is caused because I had you cooperate with me in this charade, I will kill all two thousand men you brought and raze the entire Kagoshima to the ground!"

Shimazu Mitsuhisa hurriedly knelt down and protested, "Those ronin are not my direct subordinates..."

"Don't give me that nonsense. That lame excuse might fool Quartz, but I won't fall for it. These ronin are all down-on-their-luck samurai. If you hadn't given them this opportunity, they might have died poor and destitute in Japan. If you really wanted to stop them, didn't you have any way? I think you just don't want to!"

Shimazu Mitsuhisa was speechless and could only lower his head to hide his panic.

Liu Ye changed the subject: "Fortunately, it didn't cause a bigger disaster, at least not too many people died. You deserve some credit, and the drama of invading Zhejiang fooled the emperor, so it's fair to say that your merits and demerits cancel each other out. You can take some of the loot back with you to use as military supplies. This trip to Zhejiang ends here. I will inform you of any further actions later."

"Thank you for your mercy, General." Shimazu Mitsuhisa prostrated himself in gratitude. This outcome was somewhat unexpected. He had thought that even if he was spared, he would not receive any more spoils of war, and his trip to Zhejiang would be considered a waste. He did not expect that Liu Ye, despite his scolding, was still fair in rewarding and punishing.

Liu Ye let him go because he had tasted success from impersonating a "Japanese pirate" and felt the Shimazu family still had value. Furthermore, Shimazu Mitsuhisa was relatively self-aware and not very bold, making him easier to control. After giving him a warning, he released him back to Japan. His initial plan was to continue his "piracy" activities in Fujian and Guangdong until he captured the general. However, after the Linhai County incident, the Japanese greedy nature was fully exposed, and Liu Ye felt there were still some risks in continuing this cooperative relationship. Therefore, he abandoned his initial plan and decided to stop while he was ahead.

After resolving the issue of the Japanese pirates, the Qiongzhou camp turned south and, according to plan, "attacked" the Japanese pirate fleet in Fujian.

News of the Qiongzhou camp's effortless victory over the Japanese pirates quickly reached the capital, causing a stir in the court and among the people.

When Japanese pirates captured Linhai County, the capital of Taizhou Prefecture, they did not commit massacres, but they engaged in widespread rape and looting, and even murdered Feng Su, the magistrate of Linhai, and Xu Shiluan, the prefect of Taizhou. For centuries, Jiangnan had enjoyed peace; the tragedy of a prefectural capital falling and the deaths of an entire county and prefecture's officials had never occurred, not even during the Jiajing reign when the pirates were at their most rampant. Jiangnan was the most important source of tax revenue for the entire Ming Dynasty; if Jiangnan was unstable, the Ming Dynasty would be unstable. From the emperor to the common people, no one expected that the seemingly prosperous and stable Jiangnan was actually a paper lantern, easily punctured. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty had the Qiongzhou Camp, a powerful and swift force that arrived in Zhejiang within days without needing to mobilize border troops. They quelled the pirate raids with a single move, giving everyone peace of mind.

Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion.

The report of victory from Zhejiang was currently before Wen Tiren. He summoned the other cabinet members and sought their opinions: "The report of victory from Zhejiang states that the Qiongzhou Regiment has subdued Linhai County, decisively defeated the Japanese pirates, beheaded over a thousand, and captured over a thousand. They are currently on their way to Fujian to expel the Japanese. If we can defeat both the Japanese pirates and the Japanese within a month, relieving the siege of Zhejiang and Fujian, this would be an unprecedented achievement for His Majesty since his ascension to the throne. We must come up with a suggestion on how to reward them for His Majesty's decision."

At this time, the cabinet was basically a one-man show by Wen Tiren. The reason for seeking the opinions of other members was only to cover up the truth and prevent people from discovering the relationship between Lin Tianming and Liu Ye behind him.

Former Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru was ousted last year by Wen Tiren's scheme. Xu Guangqi, who was known for his excellent reputation and character, entered the cabinet as Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, but died of illness a few months later. Now, the only senior official is Wu Zongda, Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Minister of Revenue, and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall. Others such as Wang Yingxiong, He Wupeng, and Qian Shisheng are just playing a minor role.

Wu Zongda was the tutor of Qin Bingyan, the current prefect of Qiongzhou Prefecture, and Zhao Yue, the assistant prefect. He paid close attention to the Qiongzhou Prefecture where his disciples were serving. Moreover, there was no conflict of interest between him and the rewarding of the Qiongzhou Camp and Liu Ye, so he had no reason to object. When Wen Tiren asked for his opinion, he immediately said: "Merit must be rewarded, so as not to discourage the soldiers. I heard that Liu Ye, the commander of the Qiongzhou Camp, is already the deputy general of Guangdong and the governor of Guangzhou. Why not promote him to general?"

Wen Tiren was somewhat dissatisfied: "Only a general? If it weren't for His Majesty's desire to temper this boy's character, he should have been promoted to general for his merits in suppressing the rebellion in Shandong last time."

Initially, he didn't value Liu Ye much, only giving him a side benefit to win over Lin Tianming. Moreover, in his view, the little-known Qiongzhou Camp's great achievements in Shandong were largely due to Lin Tianming's influence. The power to report military achievements was in the hands of civil officials, and Lin Tianming certainly wouldn't mistreat his future son-in-law; it was hard to say how much of the credit was genuine. However, the suppression of the Japanese pirates in Zhejiang was a real victory, leaving no room for fabrication. Even a thousand heads couldn't be faked. The Japanese pirates' appearance and hairstyles differed greatly from those of the Ming people, proving that the Qiongzhou Camp was truly capable. Even without Lin Tianming's connection, they could have risen to prominence.

Upon receiving this news of victory, Wen Tiren immediately considered winning over Liu Ye. In these times, wars raged everywhere, and the emperor had already dismissed countless officials due to unfavorable military outcomes. Even as the Grand Secretary, Wen Tiren dared not claim his position was secure. If a powerful local military commander could provide mutual support, his position as Grand Secretary would be much more secure.

Wang Yingxiong, the Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion, had long secretly pledged allegiance to the Grand Secretary and was an accomplice of Wen Tiren in the cabinet. The two had already discussed this memorial in private. At this moment, he stepped forward like the straight man in a crosstalk performance and continued the conversation: "The merit of beheading more than a thousand Japanese pirates is not worth mentioning by being appointed as a general. I suggest that he be promoted to general, be granted the title of the second-rank Dragon and Tiger General, and establish a military town in Qiongzhou, which is above the Guangdong general, and is the same as the nine major border towns."

Qian Shisheng expressed his doubts: "Didn't His Majesty approve the memorial to establish a military garrison? His Majesty clearly stated: 'If the Qiongzhou garrison defeats the Japanese pirates and the Dutch, then it should be submitted to the court for discussion.' How could such a hasty decision be made? Besides, the Japanese pirates have been defeated, but the Dutch haven't even been defeated yet!"

When He Wupeng saw Wen Tiren looking at him, he quickly waved his hand and said, "I have no objection. It's entirely up to the Chief Minister to decide."

Wen Tiren pondered for a moment and said, "Since everyone has their own opinion, let's not rush to draft a proposal. We can wait for news from Fujian before reaching a consensus and submitting it to the Qianqing Palace."