While Zeng Cheng knew the Great Ming would not descend into chaos, he felt a pang of discomfort.
Who was the last emperor who prioritized the welfare of his people, disliked officials, monks, and scholars, dared to launch a case involving tens of thousands of people, and yet suffered no significant unrest afterward?
It was the founding emperor of the Great Ming, Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang!
That was a ruthless man. He could launch a case involving tens of thousands of people on a whim and emerge unscathed. Any official or general, no matter how powerful, was subject to his decree and could be executed without hesitation. He was truly a formidable emperor.
And what was the result?
He was vilified to the extreme!
There was even a folk song that went, "Speaking of Fengyang, oh Fengyang, Fengyang was originally a good place. Since Zhu the Emperor emerged from it, nine out of ten years have been years of famine."
How ironic!
Zeng Cheng knew that Zhu Jinsong placed the utmost importance on the welfare of his people. However, launching a case involving tens of thousands of people – how would Zhu Jinsong's reputation fare in the annals of history compared to Emperor Hongwu?
More importantly, Emperor Hongwu at least had some redeeming qualities. But look at what Emperor Zhu Jinsong, the emperor of the Great Ming, had done – teaching the barbarians how to use cottonseed oil and cottonseed cake, which would sterilize their offspring; selling firearms and cannons to various countries and inciting wars among them; making extensive use of laborers without regard for their lives. These actions alone were already detrimental to his reputation!
Besides, if history criticized Emperor Zhu, that was one thing, but was Zeng Cheng not also subject to criticism?
Zeng Cheng could even imagine his evaluation in historical records: "Zeng Cheng, after initially serving the Qing, surrendered to the Ming. The Emperor, unconcerned by his humble and base origins, appointed him to the position of Grand Secretary. However, during his tenure, he made no significant achievements and engaged in much flattery..."
After brooding for a long time, Zeng Cheng made up his mind. He thought, "Whatever you want to call it, I don't care how history slanders me. You, Emperor Zhu, won't see it, and neither will I, Zeng Cheng."
As soon as he made up his mind, Zeng Cheng felt as though heaven and earth had become vast and boundless. The sky seemed bluer, the grass greener, and his breathing felt smoother.
After a moment's thought, Zeng Cheng decided to change the subject. "Envoys from the Habsburg family of Europa have arrived in the Great Ming, claiming they wish to join the 'Little Broken Pot'. I have instructed the Court of State Ceremonial to reject them on the grounds that His Majesty is not in the capital and that joining the 'Little Broken Pot' requires prior application and approval from the assembly of the 'Little Broken Pot'."
"Additionally, the Ministry of Revenue has prepared the transfer of thirty thousand households, approximately one million people, to accompany His Highness Prince Qin to Alaska. Prince Qin is dissatisfied with the name Alaska and has requested it be renamed New Qin Province."
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Agreed."
Since the territory now belonged to the Great Ming, it was indeed inappropriate to continue using the name Alaska. The name New Qin Province sounded much better.
As for the Habsburg family, Zhu Jinsong paid them no mind at all.
Or rather, the Great Ming needed a chaotic, war-torn "Little Broken Ball," not a harmonious and friendly one. Otherwise, who would buy the flintlock muskets and increasingly obsolete cannons that the Great Ming had phased out?
After contemplating for a moment, Zhu Jinsong finally spoke, "This way, after you return, find the ambassadors from France, England, Russia, and the Eagles and chat with them. Tell them to string along the Habsburgs for now, give them some hope, and don't force the Habsburg family into a corner where they have no choice but to fight."
Zeng Cheng immediately bowed and accepted the instruction.
Zhu Jinsong continued, "Besides the Habsburg family, send someone to Wa Country. Tell Tokugawa Ienari to dispatch ten thousand Wa samurai as auxiliary troops to march with the Great Ming army against the Ottomans."
Zeng Cheng was taken aback and asked, "Wa barbarian samurai?"
It wasn't unusual for Zeng Cheng to be surprised. He had seen the Wa barbarians before and had even personally met Tokugawa Ienari.
From Zeng Cheng's perspective, standing at 1.7 meters tall, Tokugawa Ienari, who was only 1.55 meters tall, seemed like a disabled person of the third rank. However, according to Tokugawa Ienari, his height of 1.55 meters was considered tall among the Wa barbarians.
Were they asking these third-rank disabled people to hack enemies, or were they expecting the Great Ming army to protect them?
After some thought, Zeng Cheng decided to be more tactful and persuade Zhu Jinsong. "Your Majesty, those short and stout fellows are all three inches and a husk of a tree. If they are allowed to join the army on the battlefield, wouldn't our Great Ming army have to divert its attention to protect them?"
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "Minister Zeng, you underestimate those short and stout fellows, don't you?"
"You must understand that even a piece of toilet paper has its use, and these short and stout fellows are no different. Although their legs are short, these short and stout fellows are stubborn and unafraid of death. As long as they are properly managed, they are the most useful cannon fodder, and their deaths are of no concern. "
"More importantly, although these short and stout fellows have learned some human demeanor from our Central Plains culture, they still possess seven parts beastliness. If these short and stout fellows are sent to fight the Ottomans, certain things that the Great Ming army finds inconvenient to do can be entrusted to these short and stout fellows. Do you understand?"
Hearing this, Zeng Cheng finally understood the situation.
It was similar to when they fought in Jiaozhi, Myanmar, and Joseon. The Great Ming army had many things they couldn't do themselves and had to entrust them to the local guides, the monkeys or Joseon people.
However, the situation with the Ottomans was somewhat different.
For places like Jiaozhi, Myanmar, and Joseon, they were all part of the Central Plains cultural sphere. While there were always those who opposed the Great Ming, there were also many monkeys and Joseon people willing to guide the Great Ming army.
As for the people in the Ottoman region, the Great Ming army was an army of demons, infidels who deserved to be cast into hell. This meant that no one in the Ottoman region would willingly guide the Great Ming.
Because of this, it was not easy for the Great Ming to completely resolve the issue in the Ottoman region, and it might even require some less-than-honorable methods.
At this point, the usefulness of the short and stout auxiliary troops became apparent. Those unsavory tasks would be handled by the short and stout fellows. The Great Ming army, even if they found money on the road, would proactively hand it over to the Ministry of Justice. They were the best of people and never did anything wrong.
Good heavens, this was completely calculating the Wa barbarians to death, squeezing out every last drop of blood from them!
Zhu Jinsong continued, "Furthermore, the Kunlun slaves and Joseon laborers recently introduced by the Great Ming are still too few. Therefore, I intend to introduce more laborers from Wa Country. Remember to tell Tokugawa Ienari that the wages for these laborers will be the same as before, settled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Edo Shogunate."
Zeng Cheng was too tired to retort. He even regretted why he had come to Fengyang.
If he had stayed in the capital to handle state affairs and stayed away from this unreliable emperor, wouldn't he have lived a few more comfortable years?
But there was no helping it. Regardless of whether Zeng Cheng felt comfortable or uncomfortable, he had already come and accepted the task. In the end, he could only pass this matter on to Liu Yangxing, the Governor-General of Kyushu Island for the Great Ming, to worry about.
Of course, Liu Yangxing, as the first Governor-General of Kyushu Island for the Great Ming, did not find this matter troublesome.
Upon receiving the news delivered by Zeng Cheng's messenger, Liu Yangxing immediately sent someone to find Tokugawa Ienari and invited him to Kyushu Island as a guest.
After a pleasant banquet where both host and guest enjoyed themselves immensely, Liu Yangxing smiled and said, "Dechuan-jun, I have good news to tell you."
Tokugawa Ienari, with a Wa woman in his arms, caressed her and asked with a smile, "What good news does Governor Liu have?"
Liu Yangxing, who was also caressing the Wa woman brought by Tokugawa Ienari, smiled and said, "The good news is that your time to serve His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming and serve the Great Ming has arrived!"
Tokugawa Ienari immediately perked up. He pushed the Wa woman aside, straightened his body, placed his hands on the ground, and bowed, saying, "Yes! I am willing to die ten thousand times to serve His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming!"
Liu Yangxing smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Relax, Dechuan-jun. The fact that I am informing you of this matter instead of through an imperial edict means that this matter is not particularly important."
Tokugawa Ienari bowed solemnly and said, "Matters of the superior nation are not trivial. I will do my utmost to fulfill any command from His Majesty the Emperor of the superior nation!"
Liu Yangxing laughed heartily and pushed away the Wa woman in his embrace. After both Wa women had left the room, Liu Yangxing said seriously, "Dechuan-jun, I presume you have read the Great Ming newspapers?"
Tokugawa Ienari nodded and replied, "Of course, I have. I haven't missed a single issue."
Liu Yangxing hummed in agreement and said, "Then, you have also read the news that the Great Ming will be sending troops against the Ottomans?"
Tokugawa Ienari bowed his head and said, "Yes! I have read it. I wish I could join the Great Ming army and sweep away all the rebels for His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming!"
Liu Yangxing thought to himself, "Damn it. If anyone is a rebel, it's your Wa Country, the biggest rebel in the world. Otherwise, why aren't you submitting your petition to annex yourselves right now?"
After silently cursing, Liu Yangxing continued, "After His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming and Minister Zeng Cheng discussed it, they believe that Wa Country's loyalty is commendable. Therefore, you are permitted to conscript ten thousand Wa samurai to serve as auxiliary troops of the Great Ming in the campaign against the Ottomans."
Tokugawa Ienari was overjoyed and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming, for your great benevolence. I am deeply grateful!"
Of course, if one were to say that Tokugawa Ienari was deeply loyal to Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, that would be utter nonsense.
Tokugawa Ienari thought that since the Great Ming army was so powerful, it must have its extraordinary aspects. However, the Great Ming army always recruited from the people of the Great Ming, and those who were not citizens of the Great Ming had no opportunity to enter the Great Ming army. Even if Tokugawa Ienari wanted to learn, he couldn't.
As for sending students abroad like France?
Tokugawa Ienari had sent envoys to the Great Ming, and some had even entered the military to learn, like Napoleon. However, according to the reports from those envoys, what they learned was clearly not the true essence of the Great Ming army. To learn the true essence, they would likely need to fully integrate into the Great Ming army.
This was a troublesome issue.
To learn the essence of the Great Ming army, they needed to integrate into the Great Ming army. And to integrate into the Great Ming army, they first needed to have a household registration in the Great Ming.
This was like an unsolvable vicious cycle, and at least Tokugawa Ienari could not think of a solution.
Now, Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, was actually allowing Wa Country to send auxiliary troops to fight alongside the Great Ming army against the Ottomans?
What was this?
It was like wanting to eat a sticky rice bun and having a dorayaki fall from the sky!
Upon receiving this opportunity, Tokugawa Ienari naturally agreed to the Great Ming's need for laborers without hesitation.
Wa Country might not have much else, but did it lack Wa barbarians?
There were many savages on Ezo Island. If they were captured and sent to the Great Ming as laborers, it would satisfy the needs of the "Great Ming Daddy" and also contribute to the shogunate. Wasn't this a great thing with multiple benefits?
From afar in Wa Country, it could satisfy the needs of the "Great Ming Daddy" and also contribute to the shogunate. Wasn't this a great thing with multiple benefits?