The Jiajing Emperor's intention was very clear, and the other officials were well aware of his intention. When the Jiajing Emperor asked for the opinions of the Minister of War He Ao and others, they all said that troops should be sent to suppress the Japanese, but the strategies were different.
"How dare only fifty-seven Japanese pirates wearing red clothes and yellow umbrellas sit and watch the city of Yingtian? If we don't punish them all, how can we punish them? I order Yingtian and the surrounding prefectures to punish these Japanese pirates. There must be no mistakes. Not a single Japanese pirate will escape!"
After questioning several people, Emperor Jiajing issued an edict on the spot and sent someone to convey the message to Yingtian and other places at an accelerated speed of 800 miles.
After dealing with the Japanese invasion in Yingtian, Emperor Jiajing waved his sleeves again and said to Yan Song and others, "The Japanese invasion in Shangyu is not accidental, nor is it an isolated case. I believe you all know that the Japanese invasion in the Jiangnan area has been rising and falling over the past period of time, and has become increasingly severe. The importance of Jiangnan is self-evident. The Japanese invasion in Jiangnan cannot be delayed. You should go and summon the six ministers and the left and right vice ministers to discuss the matter in Wuyi Palace in an hour."
"As you wish."
Yan Song and others knelt down, accepted the order and left.
Emperor Jiajing ordered a court meeting, and Yan Song and others did not dare to slack off. They immediately sent people to summon the six ministers and the left and right vice ministers to come to Wuyi Hall for the meeting.
Soon, the six ministers and the left and right vice ministers all arrived. After a cup of tea, Emperor Jiajing also arrived at Wuyi Palace.
"I have ruled the country for thirty-one years. I have respected the heaven and earth and cultivated myself. I have never been lazy. However, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued. The northern barbarians have not stopped, and the southern Japanese have risen one after another. I feel deeply ashamed of the people of the world. This is all my fault."
Emperor Jiajing, wearing a gold-plated Taoist robe, sat high on the throne. He glanced at all the court officials and spoke slowly and sincerely.
Hearing the words of Emperor Jiajing, "It's all my fault," all the court officials knelt down in a hurry and kowtowed, begging for forgiveness, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's all our fault. Your Majesty has ruled the world and worked hard to make our Ming Dynasty so prosperous. The northern barbarians and the southern Japanese are all due to our incompetence. We have caused Your Majesty to worry and caused the people to suffer."
He had to kneel down and apologize. History has proven that every time Emperor Jiajing said "It's all my fault", in fact, he was blaming others.
For example, one year there was a heavy snowfall, the heaviest snow ever seen in history, hundreds of thousands of people were affected, and millions of acres of wheat seedlings were frozen to death. When Emperor Jiajing summoned court officials to discuss disaster relief, he said, "It's all my fault." During the court discussion, an official from the Imperial Observatory followed Emperor Jiajing's words and suggested that Emperor Jiajing issue a self-criticism edict and pray for God's forgiveness... Then, this upright official from the Imperial Observatory was beaten to death in the court.
There are many such examples. The most recent one was during the Gengxu Incident, when Emperor Jiajing once said, "It's all my fault," and then the Minister of War Ding Rukui was executed... ...
Therefore, when the court officials heard Emperor Jiajing's words "It's all my fault", they all broke out in cold sweats, fearing that they had become the criminal in Emperor Jiajing's mind.
"No need to argue, everyone, stand up, we can discuss this matter later. Today, I summoned you all to discuss the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan. My dear ministers, the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan is urgent, please come up with a proposal and don't disappoint me."
Emperor Jiajing waved his hand without comment, signaling everyone to stand up and start a court discussion on the Japanese invasion in the south of the Yangtze River.
This time Yan Song was self-aware and took the initiative to speak without being called by Emperor Jiajing.
Yan Song was a smart man. He did not take the initiative to speak in the palace just now and was forced to speak after being called by Emperor Jiajing. The content of his speech was not approved by Emperor Jiajing. He knew it very well in his heart. This time he made special preparations in order to make up for the points he lost in the palace just now and restore his image in the heart of Emperor Jiajing.
After he came out of the palace, he immediately told his son Yan Shifan about the court meeting and asked him to rush back to the Yan Mansion to inform him of the meeting. He then ordered his son to quickly draft a proposal for him to speak at the court meeting.
In recent years, as Yan Song grew older, he relied on his son Yan Shifan's advice on many matters as the chief minister of the cabinet.
At that time, Yan Shifan was working hard among a group of women while drunk. After receiving instructions from his father, he had to interrupt his work, twisted his forehead with a hot towel to sober up, and picked up a pen to write a "Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies to Resist the Japanese".
Before the court meeting began, Yan Song received Yan Shifan's "Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies to Resist the Japanese Invaders". After reading it, he nodded repeatedly and immediately felt relieved. So as soon as Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, he stepped forward and was the first to speak.
"Your Majesty, I believe that there are ten difficulties in resisting the Japanese invaders south of the Yangtze River." Yan Song bowed to Emperor Jiajing and spoke with confidence.
"Oh, what are the ten difficulties?" Emperor Jiajing asked with interest.
"Your Majesty, the first difficulty is that the Japanese pirates come from the sea, and their comings and goings are erratic and difficult to predict, so they are difficult to resist; the second difficulty is that the coastline is long and tortuous, making it difficult to defend; the third difficulty is that the land and water are intertwined, and they advance and retreat at random, making it difficult to fight; the fourth difficulty is that the Japanese pirates are treacherous, immoral, and inhumane, and their plans are difficult to predict; the fifth difficulty is that the Japanese pirates have been occupying overseas deserted islands for a long time, and their strongholds are strong and long-lasting, making them difficult to prepare for; the sixth difficulty is that the residents are fragile, and there are many unfilial people along the coast who cooperate with the Japanese pirates from inside and outside, making them difficult to use; the seventh difficulty is that the land along the coast of Jiangnan is mostly salty, making it difficult to build a city, and if it is difficult to build a city, there is no strategic location to defend, making it difficult to resist the Japanese pirates. The eighth difficulty is that the host and guest forces are limited, making it difficult to maintain for a long time; the ninth difficulty is that there is a shortage of food and grass, making it difficult to raise them, and coupled with natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and locusts, making it even more difficult to raise food and grass; the tenth difficulty is that many generals are arrogant and cowardly, and they are difficult to trust, and they are not strong enough to resist the Japanese pirates."
Yan Song bowed and reported everything.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jiajing nodded and looked at Yan Song approvingly. He was quite satisfied with the ten difficulties in resisting the Japanese invaders that Yan Song had summarized.
"Since we have these ten difficulties, what solutions do you have?" Emperor Jiajing asked again.
"I am not very good at military affairs, but I have done a lot of research on the Japanese invasion in the south of the Yangtze River. In response to these ten difficulties, I have three strategies to resist the Japanese invasion. I hope they will inspire others to think about them." Yan Song said slowly.
Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly, signaling Yan Song to continue.
"My humble servant has three strategies to resist the Japanese pirates: First, build more warships and occupy key points. We will attack them when they come and destroy them when they leave. Second, gather 500 sand ships to patrol at the mouth of Suzhou and select more than 10,000 soldiers to guard the Songjiang Pond. We will attack them as soon as the Japanese pirates land. Third, gather 500 to 600 light warships from Suzhou and Songjiang to patrol at Huangpu, Wusong, Taihu Lake and other places, so that the Japanese pirates dare not go deep on foot and dare not run rampant by boat. At the same time, we will train more soldiers in the garrisons, and consider recruiting wolf soldiers, local soldiers, and Zhang soldiers as supplements. We can also keep the remaining 100,000 taels of salt and silver from Huai and Zhejiang or borrow 80,000 to 90,000 taels of military pay from Nan Gan for food and rewards." Yan Song spoke slowly.
Emperor Jiajing nodded as he listened. It was obvious that Yan Song's ten difficulties and three strategies caught his eye and made him quite satisfied.