Chapter 278: Sending Troops to Japan

The crowd in the hall was furious.

Emperor Zhu Houzhao had a lot of leisure time.

If he had it in front of him, he might really believe the lies of these civil servants and gentry.

However, since Tang Hao reminded him, Zhu Houzhao now looks at these civil servants and gentry with colored filters.

After experiencing so many ups and downs, Zhu Houzhao can be sure that the only person who is truly loyal to him may be the savage Tang Hao.

Even Liu Jin, a close companion who had grown up with him, could set up traps for him one after another for selfish reasons!

Even Yang Ting and the imperial master who taught him to study and cultivate virtue could choose to stab him in the back for the benefit of the civil servants and gentry!

As for the other courtiers, what will they be like?

They are furious at the moment, and they are speaking righteously at the moment, but how many of them are coveting the Ishimi Silver Mine and the hundreds of millions of silver?

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was not angry at all. He even found it a bit funny, just like watching a group of clowns, quietly watching the performance of these civil servants and gentry.

It was not until Jiao Fang, the Minister of Household Affairs, deliberately brought up the topic of Iwami Silver Mine that the hall fell silent.

"Speaking of the Japanese country, I remember one thing."

Jiao Fang thought for a while and said with a smile, "I don't know if you still remember, but Marquis Tang once mentioned that there is a very large silver mine in the Japanese country. The silver mine contains hundreds of millions of taels of silver... ”

When everyone heard this, they immediately looked over.

Although everyone is concerned about the Iwami Silver Mine, after all, everyone is a person of status and status. No matter how much they want to know the specific information about the Iwami Silver Mine, they cannot take the initiative to speak out.

To put it bluntly, everyone would be embarrassed.

However, Jiao Fang, the Minister of Household Affairs, has always been a shameless and notoriously despicable person.

Moreover, as the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he is also a big farmer in charge of money and grain. It seems reasonable for him to mention this matter at this moment.

"I remember that when you were talking about the current situation of the Japanese country at the court, Tang Hou, you mentioned that there is a large silver mine in the Japanese country."

Jiao Fang's respectful attitude towards Tang Hao is because he knows his position.

The fact that Jiao Fang was able to sit in the position of Minister of Household Affairs was undoubtedly promoted by His Majesty the Emperor, so he was an out-and-out imperialist.

In the imperial party, the only insurmountable mountain is undoubtedly Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao.

Therefore, Jiao Fang instinctively treated Tang Hao with respect. If Tang Hao had not rejected his many invitations to banquets, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance would have wanted to kneel down and lick him.

Zhu Houzhao had a good memory and said immediately.

"That's right, there is such a thing, a silver mine with hundreds of millions of taels of silver hidden..."

Zhu Houzhao deliberately mentioned this matter, which undoubtedly took away the last fig leaf from everyone present.

If you want to know, just ask directly and discuss it. Don't pretend to be a moral standard here, which makes people feel sick just hearing it.

His Majesty the Emperor has mentioned this matter, so naturally the ministers have no scruples.

This hundred million taels of silver is definitely an astronomical figure, even for Ming Dynasty, it is an astronomical figure.

You must know that although there are many minerals in the Ming Dynasty, the court's annual tax revenue is only about three million taels!

A silver mine in the Japanese country actually contains hundreds of millions of taels of silver. According to a rough estimate, it is as much as the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty in the 30s and 40s!

This is definitely a big mine, who can not be tempted?

Tang Hao smiled and nodded, still very pleased with Jiao Fang's understanding and cooperation.

"There is indeed such a silver mine called Iwami Silver Mine!"

"Before the mission went to the Japanese country, I also asked the commanders of the Beijing Army, Ma Yong and Deng Boyan, to try to find out the specific situation of this silver mine and see if it was true..."

The words stopped abruptly before he finished speaking.

Because there is no need for him to speak anymore, it is the home court of the "insider" Xie Duo.

Everyone in the hall looked at Xie Duo. The great Confucian scholar also noticed everyone's gazes, so he immediately answered: "What Marquis Tang said is true, there is indeed such a silver mine."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

"Have you found the location of the silver mine?" Jiao Fang asked quickly.

This is the thing about getting rich that he loves the most.

Not to mention that he himself is a greedy and lustful person, but now he is the Minister of Household Affairs and is in charge of the country's money and food for His Majesty the Emperor. Undoubtedly, the more money and food, the better.

If one day the treasury is empty and His Majesty the Emperor fails to ask for money and food, the first unlucky person will be Jiao Fang, the Minister of Household Affairs!

If this silver mine, which contains hundreds of millions of taels of silver, can be in his own hands, he will have a steady stream of silver from now on, and he, Jiao Fang, can also secure his position as Minister of the Ministry of Finance!

"Yes, I have sent people to the Japanese country and have roughly found the location of this silver mine."

Xie Duo nodded and then said to the ministers.

"The Iwami Silver Mine is located in Shimane County, Kyushu Island, Japan. This place is currently ruled by a daimyo named Ouchi Clan of Japan. The head of the Ouchi Clan is Yoshihiro Ouchi, who has quite a few tricks..."

"Daimyo?" The officials were slightly confused about this. They didn't know much about the official system of the Japanese country.

"This daimyo is equivalent to the local nobles here in the Japanese country." Xie Duo explained to everyone thoughtfully, "The current Japanese country is very chaotic. The Muromachi shogunate in charge of the Japanese country has been in civil strife. As a result, the power of dominance has plummeted, and the daimyo in various places have The separatists no longer obeyed the shogunate's orders and began to fight against each other. "

"Well, how should I put it? These so-called daimyo are almost the local princes of the Japanese country. Of course, the Japanese country is very small, and the sphere of influence of these daimyo is not large. It is usually within the scope of one or two counties..."

Xie Duo thought for a moment and still hesitated to use the word "princes".

But he always felt that there was something strange. Considering the military strength of these Japanese lords, calling them "princes" did somewhat taint the word "princes", so he added a little explanation later, occupying an area of ​​one or two The princes of the county...

When the ministers heard this, they couldn't laugh or cry for a while.

Zhu Houzhao was even more delighted.

It is really a wonder in the world to support the princes of one or two counties!

I'm afraid it's even worse than the Anhua King Zhu Chixiu who rebelled not long ago. At least he still occupies a state capital.

"Then the fighting of these Japanese lords is equivalent to the fighting in the villages and towns of the Ming Dynasty?"

Daimyo's war?

Fighting between villages and towns?

When the ministers heard this, they immediately burst into laughter.

Xie Duo hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

It seems...there is really...no difference.

"Your Majesty is wise, the number of these daimyo's troops is only a few thousand, and the number of those with more numbers is nearly ten thousand. For example, the Ouchi clan has a family of ten thousand warriors, so it has become the western overlord of the Japanese country. As for other local daimyo, It’s just…not enough.”

It’s really a battle between villages and towns!

Zhu Houzhao lost interest for a while.

With this kind of military strength, if the barbarians send 10,000 soldiers, they can sweep across the entire Japanese country. There is nothing to be afraid of.

"Let's continue talking about this Iwami Silver Mine!"

Xie Duo quickly explained: "This Shimane County is located near the sea, and to the north is the Sea of ​​Japan. The current governor of the Ouchi family is Ouchi Yoshihiro. In my opinion, the strength of the Ouchi family... is indeed average, but it is The western overlords in the Japanese country have already roughly learned about the silver mines in the Iwami area and are mining them on a small scale. "

After hearing Xie Duo's explanation, everyone finally understood the location of the Iwami Silver Mine, and also had a rough idea of ​​the internal situation of the Japanese country.

Generally speaking, the Japanese country is still the same Japanese country. Its military strength is not very good, and it is currently in the midst of a chaotic war between daimyo from all over the country.

Then the Iwami Silver Mine, which the ministers are most concerned about, is now in charge of an Ouchi clan. This Ouchi clan is known as the overlord of the western part of Japan. It has an armed force of almost ten thousand people and is mining the Iwami Silver Mine on a small scale!

After confirming that the silver mine was real and that the Ouchi clan was secretly mining it, the ministers immediately became restless.

This is the silver mine they like. How dare these damn barbarians like the Ouchi clan secretly mine it?

This is like having your money stolen!

Jiao Fang immediately suggested to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, the Japanese country is despicable and ungrateful. If such silver mines fall into their hands, it will only be a waste of natural resources!"

"If I, the Ming Dynasty, could control this silver mine and use the mined silver to develop people's livelihood, it would be a benevolent act!"

Using domestic silver mines to develop the people's livelihood in the Ming Dynasty was a benevolent policy. Even Zhu Houzhao laughed in anger at Jiao Fang's shameless words.

But that's what he valued about Jiao Fang.

Despicable and shameless, but so what?

As long as Jiao Fang is willing to obey and do things according to his ideas, Zhu Houzhao will be willing to reuse him.

"What? What do you want to do?"

"Of course we will send troops to Japan to seize the Iwami Silver Mine!"

Jiao Fang smiled and said directly, without any concealment, without blushing or out of breath, as if it was natural.

Why is he covering up?

Everyone wants this Shijian Silver Mine, and everyone wants the hundreds of millions of taels of silver in it, but they are too embarrassed to say so because of their face.

But Jiao Fang is different, he has never been shameless!

When she first entered the official career, she could give her wife to a powerful minister for the sake of promotion. What else would Jiao Fang want to do?

Of course he can speak, and he is qualified to speak!

However, what Jiao Fang didn't expect was that he took the initiative to propose seizing the Shijian Silver Mine, but was opposed by the civil servant Jin Shen.

"After all, this Japanese country is a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty. As the suzerain state of our country, how can we convince the people by sending troops to rob the vassal country's things?" Wang Kuo, the official minister, spoke first and rejected the proposal.

"What Wang Shangshu said is absolutely true. The Japanese country is a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty, and the people of the Japanese country are naturally His Majesty's people. How can there be any reason for the suzerain country to seize the things of the vassal country? It is really not the behavior of a big country in the Celestial Dynasty!"

Yang Tinghe, the chief minister of the cabinet, also echoed.

"If I, the Ming Dynasty, really do this, how will the four vassal councils view my Ming Dynasty? Isn't it true that the celestial spirit that I have always maintained is an illusion? Isn't it possible that the benevolence, justice, etiquette and law that I, the Ming Dynasty, have always admired, are all a joke?"

Facing Yang Tinghe's successive questions, Jiao Fang was speechless for a moment and chose to remain silent.

Other civil servants also spoke out against it and echoed Yang Tinghe's statement.

They do covet the Iwami Silver Mine, but that doesn't mean they are willing to send troops to Japan.

There are reasons why the civil officials and gentry have always been against the war.

The first is to suppress the military generals and nobles and not give them the opportunity to gain military merit.

The military generals and nobles have no inheritance. As long as there is no war, they will not get military merit, and without military merit, they will naturally not be promoted.

The second reason is that once the war starts, all the young and strong laborers will be conscripted to serve the war. Who will farm the land for the gentry? The people who suffer the most from the reduction in grain production are naturally the gentry who own the most land!

So no matter what, anti-war is necessary and necessary.

As for the Iwami Silver Mine, there are other ways besides war. At most, just like what Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao did before, use pressure to force Japan to hand over the silver mine!

Seeing the disgusting appearance of these civil officials who were whores and wanted to set up a memorial archway, Emperor Zhu Houzhao was disgusted for a while, and he could only look at Tang Hao.

Well, the best way to bite civil officials is to close the door and let the savages go!

Tang Hao looked at the disgusting appearance of these court officials, and he would not indulge them at all.

"Yang Tinghe, you are really a pillar of the country!"

"You keep talking about the suzerain state, the vassal state, the benevolence, justice, etiquette, and the demeanor of the heavenly dynasty!"

"You don't understand what Minister Xie just said, or are you deaf?"

As soon as the Marquis of Zhongshan opened his mouth, he directly pointed the spearhead at the chief minister of the cabinet, Yang Tinghe.

This was the first time that Yang Tinghe disagreed with Tang Hao's political views since he succeeded as the chief minister of the cabinet, and they had a conflict in the court.

For a while, all the officials shut their mouths and looked at Yang Tinghe in unison.

Yang Tinghe looked at Tang Hao expressionlessly and said in a deep voice: "May I ask what is your opinion, Lord Tang?"

"I don't have any opinion, I just think you are too ridiculous!"

Tang Hao sneered: "Minister Xie has already said that the Japanese have no respect for our Ming Dynasty. The reason they pay tribute to our Ming Dynasty is just because of the threat of force and the profit of the trade."

"The ridiculous facts are right in front of us. This is something that Minister Xie has personally confirmed. You The court officials are now defending these Japanese, and they are thinking of the magnanimity of the Celestial Empire. Have they ever regarded the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain? Do they have any respect for the Ming Dynasty? "

"To put it bluntly, they just regard the Ming Dynasty as the stupid son of a landlord, as a treasure land from which they can gain benefits. As for the suzerain state and vassal state, do these damn Japanese care about it at all?"

At this point, Tang Hao took a step forward and looked at Yang Tinghe with sharp eyes.

"If the Japanese had any respect for the Ming Dynasty, they would not pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty while pretending to be Japanese pirates and plundering the people along the coast of the Ming Dynasty!"

"You, Yang Tinghe, are talking without any hesitation. Have you ever thought about how many people along the coast have suffered from the plundering and harassment of Japanese pirates over the years? How many people have been displaced and their families have been destroyed because of this?"

"I will put my words here today. If anyone dares to speak up to defend the Japanese, I will exile his entire family to Japan and let his wife and daughter be raped and abused to death by the Japanese, including you, Yang Tinghe!"

"I want to see if you, Yang Tinghe, still have the face to tell these jokes at that time!"

Inside the hall, there was complete silence.

Yang Tinghe was so angry that his face turned red, and he glared at Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao.

However, Tang Hao was not afraid at all, but instead had a look of contempt at the corner of his mouth.

"What about the "unconquered country"? I have told you before that it was just an expedient measure of Emperor Taizu Gao!"

"The Japanese killed our Ming envoys and imprisoned our Ming envoys. They even provoked Emperor Taizu Gao in the letter. If it were not for the livelihood of the people, would Emperor Taizu Gao list the Japanese as an unconquered country?"

"Compared to the despicable Japanese, Korea is the real vassal state of our Ming Dynasty. It pays tribute every year and has never made any offensive moves. Not long ago, it even offered the Jeju Horse Farm for our Ming Dynasty. Compared with it, what is Japan?"

"What? Did you, Yang Tinghe, accept bribes from the Japanese? Or are the Japanese your ancestors, Yang Tinghe, and you, as an important official in the Ming Dynasty, have to speak for these despicable Japanese and defend them again and again?"

"Tang Hao, don't go too far..." Yang Tinghe finally couldn't help it.

Tang Hao's vicious words simply touched his reverse scale.

However, just when Yang Tinghe was about to fight back, the Emperor on the dragon throne spoke.

"Shut up!"

"Tang Hou attacked and abused the important officials of the court without reason, and he will be fined for one year!"

Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the wild man would use such vicious language to abuse Yang Tinghe in public.

Although Zhu Houzhao was dissatisfied with Yang Tinghe's position, Tang Hao had reminded him that Yang Tinghe was outstanding and worthy of reuse.

So what do you mean now, you bastard?

If you abuse Yang Tinghe in public like this, once it is publicized, Yang Tinghe's life will be ruined.

Zhu Houzhao found out that for some reason, the wild man had an abnormal attitude when it came to things related to Japan. It was clear that he had great hostility towards these Japanese and wanted to slaughter them!

Although he did not understand the secret, he was his own wild man after all, and he was favored.

So Zhu Houzhao said sharply: "The small country of Zu'er has repeatedly offended my great power!"

"I kindly sent angels to mediate, but these damn barbarians have no respect for enlightenment and no kindness, and they still go their own way!"

"I have made up my mind to send troops to the Japanese country to punish the people and save the people of the Japanese country from fire and water!"

"My dear friends, do you have any objections?"

His Majesty the Emperor has never been a person who has his own way, so after he expressed his opinion, he also symbolically asked the opinions of the important officials in the court.

However, all the ministers saw His Majesty the Emperor's attitude. In addition, Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, was scanning the ministers with eager eyes. His bloody and cruel threatening words just now still echoed in their ears. No one could guarantee whether this lawless man would succeed. He would really do such a thing, so for a while no one dared to speak out against it.

Furthermore, they do covet the Shijian Silver Mine. Since His Majesty the Emperor is determined and must send troops, it is better to follow the trend and seize the Shijian Silver Mine first!

Yang Tinghe took a deep look at Tang Hao, knowing that he was powerless to stop the imperial court from sending troops, so in the end he could only sigh and bow to his fate.

"I second the proposal!"

Upon seeing this, the ministers followed suit.

"I second the proposal!"