"Shi Yan, I still remember you organizing the Cangtou Army to guard Zhengyang Gate two years ago. What suggestions do you have for the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan?"
After listening to Lü Ben's advice, Emperor Jiajing pointed his finger at Li Mo and asked for his opinion.
When Li Mo heard Emperor Jiajing mention that he had organized the Cangtou Army to guard Zhengyang Gate, a hint of complacency appeared on his face as he had profound Qi cultivation skills.
The matter of the Cangtou Army guarding the Zhengyang Gate mentioned by the emperor was the thing that Li Mo was most proud of in recent years. It was also a major reason for him to return to the position of Minister of Personnel. That happened during the Gengxu Rebellion the year before last.
At that time, the leader of the Mongol Tatar tribe, Altan, sent troops to invade Datong, crossed the Great Wall, marched straight into the capital, and approached the city. Since a large number of troops were sent to Datong and other border towns to defend against the Tatars and other northern barbarians, the troops left in the capital totaled only 40,000 to 50,000, and there were quite a few old, weak, and disabled among them. As early as after the Battle of Tumu, the Beijing camp was no longer as elite as before. In desperation, Emperor Jiajing had to order the civil and military ministers in the capital to guard one city gate for every thirteen people. If there was a problem with any city gate, only the thirteen ministers would be held responsible. Li Mo was the Minister of Personnel at the time, and he was ordered to lead 5,000 people to guard Zhengyang Gate.
The Tatar soldiers guarding Zhengyang Gate were eyeing the city covetously. Li Mo only had 5,000 soldiers, and a small half of them were old, weak, sick and disabled, and there was a serious shortage of soldiers and major generals. In order to defend Zhengyang Gate, Li Mo, after some deep thought, selected 5,000 young and strong people from the neighborhood near Zhengyang Gate, organized them, named them "Cangtou Army", armed them with armor and weapons from the treasury, and ordered them to defend Zhengyang Gate together with the 5,000 soldiers. The Tatars guarding Zhengyang Gate saw that there were many soldiers and horses on Zhengyang Gate, more than 10,000 people, with bright armor, sharp weapons, and fluttering banners. They regarded it as a hard nut to crack and never dared to attack Zhengyang Gate.
Li Mo's calm response ability was appreciated by Emperor Jiajing. Not long after, the Minister of Personnel Xia Bangmo retired and Li Mo was promoted to Minister of Personnel.
This promotion is not easy.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of being promoted from a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel to a Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, which shows how special this step is.
It can also be seen that Li Mo holds a great importance in the heart of Emperor Jiajing.
"Your Majesty, I suggest recruiting soldiers to train a new army. From the reports of the war against the Japanese in the south of the Yangtze River in recent years, we know that the soldiers in the garrisons are no longer as good at fighting as they used to be. Now they are untrained in fighting and unskilled in standing. I have investigated and found that it is common for soldiers to escape, eat empty salaries, and be old, weak, sick and disabled. They are unable to bear the current heavy task of suppressing the Japanese."
Li Mo stepped forward, bowed and reported.
"Recruiting soldiers and training a new army? Well, this is not a bad move, we will discuss it later. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
Emperor Jiajing made a noncommittal comment and then asked again.
The hall was silent for two seconds.
With the suggestions from Yan Song, Xu Jie, Lu Ben and Li Mo, the officials in the hall thought they had no better suggestions.
There was silence for two seconds, and just when Emperor Jiajing looked dissatisfied, a man stood up.
It’s Zhao Wenhua!
Zhao Wenhua is now the Minister of Works and is also qualified to participate in court discussions.
"Your Majesty, I have seven matters to report on how to defend against the Japanese pirates." Zhao Wenhua took a step forward and bowed deeply.
Zhao Wenhua was slightly excited at the moment. Yes, he was excited. He had been preparing for this day for half a year. As early as half a year ago, he realized that the Japanese invasion was getting worse.
When the Japanese threat becomes too serious to be eliminated, the emperor will certainly convene a court meeting to discuss countermeasures to eliminate the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan.
This is a great opportunity.
Back then, he presented Baihua wine to the emperor without telling his adoptive father Yan Song, risking offending him, just to get a better chance. Unfortunately, although he presented Baihua wine, he was not able to get a better chance, and he also offended his adoptive father Yan Song. If he had not begged his adoptive mother to intercede for him and ask for his adoptive father's forgiveness, his career would have ended. Fortunately, he survived this disaster without any danger.
After seeing that the Japanese invasion was getting worse, Zhao Wenhua predicted that the emperor would convene a court meeting.
Therefore, he began to prepare for this court meeting half a year ago. He consulted local chronicles, read military books, humbly sought advice, and did not hesitate to ask questions... ... After countless days and nights of hard thinking, he finally completed the "Seven Things to Defend Against Japanese Pirates".
He had already memorized the contents and could recite them by heart.
He had been preparing for this moment for a long time, so how could he not be excited
"Go ahead." Emperor Jiajing nodded.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do seven things to prevent the Japanese invasion: First, send officials to Jiangnan to offer sacrifices to the sea god. Second, order officials to bury corpses and reduce corvée labor. Third, recruit more strong men from Jianghuai to serve as naval forces, repair warships, and strengthen coastal defense. Fourth, increase the land tax in Jiangnan. If a man has more than 100 acres of land in the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen, he will be taxed more heavily. At the same time, the tax on official land will be collected in advance for three years. Fifth, order the rich to contribute money and strength, and after the Japanese invasion is quelled, they will be rewarded for their merits or pardoned. Sixth, send important officials to supervise the military situation in Jiangnan. Seventh, recruit the old party members and salt collectors who have acquainted with the Japanese invaders to infiltrate the Japanese pirates and scout the enemy situation."
Zhao Wenhua bowed deeply and replied loudly. After he finished speaking, every cell in his body pricked up his ears in deep anticipation.
These seven measures to defend against the Japanese pirates were the result of his hard work over the past six months, and were also an opportunity for advancement that he had been planning for a long time.
Whether the six months’ work can be accomplished depends on this moment.
"Well, it's rare that you're thoughtful." Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly and looked at His Highness, "What do you think?"
His Majesty said that I have a thoughtful heart... Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but feel very excited. If His Majesty hadn't been around, he would have almost cried out for joy.
When Zhao Wenhua was excited, the Minister of War Nie Bao took a deep look at him, stepped forward, and said in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, regarding the seven measures to prevent the Japanese pirates mentioned by Lord Zhao, I think the first, second, third, fifth, and seventh are feasible, but the fourth and sixth are not feasible. Jiangnan has just experienced a flood, and now the Japanese invasion is getting worse. The people are living in misery, how can we impose more taxes? As for the sixth measure, sending an important official to supervise the military situation in Jiangnan, since you intend to set up a governor-general in Jiangnan, it is unnecessary to send an important official to supervise the military situation in Jiangnan."
Nie Bao had just taken office as the Minister of War this year. After taking office, he submitted a memorial to the emperor on matters related to autumn preparation, which was highly praised and adopted by Emperor Jiajing. He then requested to build an outer city of the capital, which was also adopted by Emperor Jiajing. After the outer city was completed, he was promoted to the title of Prince's Guardian for his merits.
Nie Bao was a disciple of Wang Xueyi and a well-known honest and capable official. He had always been disgusted with the Yan Party.
"Sir Nie, perhaps you didn't listen carefully to the seven things I said. I said to increase the land tax in Jiangnan, referring to two categories in particular. One category is the land tax for civilians in Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen, where one man owns more than 100 mu of land. This is because the four prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen are rich, and the flood this year is not serious. Moreover, the people whose land tax is increased by me are those who own more than 100 mu of land. They are rich, and the increased tax will not affect their livelihood. The second category is official land. Official land is the official land of our dynasty. Three years of tax grain will be collected in advance. In the final analysis, it is the tax grain of our dynasty that will be collected, which will not affect the livelihood of the people. With money and tax grain, we can better suppress the Japanese pirates. This is also to quell the Japanese invasion in Jiangnan as soon as possible. As for the sixth thing, sending important officials to supervise the military situation in Jiangnan is to share the worries of the Governor-General of Jiangnan and assist him in suppressing the Japanese pirates. As the saying goes, one person's plan is short, and two people's plan is long."
Zhao Wenhua opened his mouth to refute as soon as Nie Bao finished speaking.
He had prepared these seven measures to defend against the Japanese invaders for half a year, and had already thought of how to respond to various objections.
Therefore, Nie Bao's rebuttal sounds reasonable and well-founded.
"The Japanese invasion is serious, and we need money right now. Offering sacrifices to the sea will only waste money..." Li Mo, the Minister of Personnel, also raised objections.
"Lord Li, you are wrong. Everything has spirits, not to mention the sea. The reason why the Japanese pirates are getting more and more powerful and coming across the sea and oceans again and again is that there must be sea monsters secretly causing trouble. We offer sacrifices to the sea and pray to the sea god to protect our Ming Dynasty, kill the sea monsters, and help our Ming Dynasty to wipe out the Japanese pirates. In this way, we can wipe out the Japanese pirates as if we have divine help."
Zhao Wenhua also refuted and defended Li Mo as soon as he finished speaking, and was equally well prepared.
Yan Song nodded approvingly.
"As this concerns the sea sacrifice, what does the Ministry of Rites have to say?" Emperor Jiajing did not comment, but looked at Xu Jie.
"I think the sea sacrifice is feasible and necessary." Xu Jie said with his head down.
Li Mo glanced at Xu Jie with disdain.
"Well, I agree." Emperor Jiajing nodded slightly.
Zhao Wenhua was ecstatic.