Nanjing.
Kong Zhenyun, whom Zhao Han had enfeoffed as Duke Yansheng of the Southern Lineage, specifically came to Nanjing to pay his respects to the Emperor before taking up his post in Shandong.
Kong Zhenyun had also made contributions; when the Great Unity Army conquered Zhejiang, he accompanied the army and persuaded several counties to surrender.
At this moment, he stood upright, listening to Zhao Han's admonishment.
"Once you go to Qufu, cooperate well with the government and restore the livelihoods of Qufu," Zhao Han said to Kong Zhenyun. "Shandong has suffered from locust droughts, war, and epidemics. This year, the Yellow River also breached its banks, flooding the lands west of the Grand Canal. The people are in dire straits, and countless have died. Do not cause further trouble for the officials and the people. Do you understand?"
Kong Zhenyun quickly bowed: "Your subject obeys His Majesty's teachings!"
Zhao Han waved his hand and said, "You may go."
Kong Zhenyun bowed and withdrew, his words and actions cautious.
With the Great Unity Army victorious in Shandong and Henan, Zhao Han had secured his rule over the realm. In Kong Zhenyun's eyes, the Emperor was even more majestic, and an invisible pressure bore down upon him.
After Kong Zhenyun left, Zhao Han continued to review memorials.
After handling them for half an hour, Zhao Han suddenly stopped, pondered for a moment, and wrote in vermillion: "Approved. Hand over to the Ministry of Rites for full handling."
It turned out that the deans of the five major medical colleges had jointly submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of a medical academy within the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
The Ming Dynasty had the Imperial Academy of Medicine, but Zhao Han had not established one. He usually sought consultations from renowned physicians at Jinling Medical College when he fell ill.
Although the social status of doctors under Zhao Han's rule had improved, there was no institution similar to the Imperial Academy of Medicine. With their meritorious service in preventing epidemics in the past two years, they had become bolder and proactively petitioned the Emperor to establish a medical academy.
Doctors with official status were called "Guandai Yishi" (officials with official insignia) in the Ming Dynasty, and every practitioner of medicine aspired to wear such insignia.
Zhao Han continued to review memorials until he reached one concerning Taiwan. He immediately declared, "Bring those little Portuguese people here!"
Shortly thereafter, several Spanish men, led by female officials, were brought before Zhao Han, along with a Han Chinese translator.
The leader immediately knelt and prostrated himself: "Spanish envoy Jose greets His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Great Unity of China."
While officials and citizens under Zhao Han's direct rule did not need to kowtow to the Emperor, envoys from other countries or factions, including Fu Geng sent by Li Zicheng, were allowed to kneel if they wished, and Zhao Han did not obstruct them.
Zhao Han asked, "Have the Dutch gone north?"
Jose said, "Great Your Majesty, those damned Dutch attacked our stronghold. Fortunately, they were repelled by the valiant Chinese soldiers. However, the Dutch retreated to Santisimo Domingo (Tamsui) and are preparing to build a castle there. We request His Majesty to send troops immediately to expel them, otherwise, once the Dutch complete their castle, it will be much more difficult to fight them."
Besides Keelung, the Spanish had also established a colonial outpost in the Tamsui region of Taiwan. They built wooden palisades along the river as city walls and constructed an earth fort within the city, garrisoning fifty soldiers and naming Tamsui "Santissimo Domingo."
A few years prior, indigenous Taiwanese tribes had repeatedly attacked Santisimo Domingo, forcing the Spanish to abandon the city and destroy the Spanish earth fort.
Now, the Dutch had suddenly moved north and intended to build a castle in Tamsui, which was within the jurisdiction of Taipei County!
This time, not only were the Spanish requesting Zhao Han to send troops, but even the magistrate of Taipei, Sun Chuanting, was seeking instructions on whether to engage in war and drive out the Dutch.
Sun Chuanting had not acted directly because he knew Zhao Han was purchasing warhorses through the Dutch. If a conflict with the Dutch were to erupt, disrupting the warhorse trade, it would be a case of sacrificing long-term gains for short-term impatience.
The question was, why had the Dutch, who had recently sent an envoy to meticulously court the Chinese Emperor, suddenly come to provoke him?
Zhao Han could not understand and was utterly bewildered.
Zhao Han said to Jose, "Go back and tell the Governor of the Philippines that Spain must abandon its claim of occupation over Keelung. The entire island of Taiwan is Chinese territory. Keelung, which you call San Salvador City, must be handed over to the administration of Great Unity officials. I permit the Spanish to continue residing in Keelung, allow you to retain a church, and permit you to establish a trading post. However, you must abide by the laws of the Great Unity court!"
"Of course, this is the Governor's intention," Jose immediately accepted.
Or rather, only by handing over Keelung to China could the Spanish continue to do business there; otherwise, they would not be able to withstand the Dutch attack.
Even if Zhao Han had not proposed it, the Spanish would have requested China to take over Keelung.
Since the Spanish were so understanding, Zhao Han also wanted to show his attitude. He smiled and said, "I have two gifts, one to be presented to the King of Spain, and the other to the Governor of the Philippines. I hope the friendship between the two countries will be everlasting."
"Thank you, Great Emperor of the Great Unity of China!" Jose quickly expressed his gratitude.
As for the gifts, they would be porcelain.
The official kilns in various provinces, including Jingdezhen, had already begun privatization.
In fact, there were not many official kilns in the Ming Dynasty, only a little over fifty in total across the country. These were not profitable at all. They required local funds for firing and conscripted ceramic artisans to serve for free.
It was a burden on the people and a waste of resources. Local government finances suffered losses, ceramic artisans were oppressed, and the imperial palace could only receive porcelain for free, with the profits in between being pocketed by eunuchs and civil officials.
It was better to sell the official kilns to merchants for private operation.
Regarding royal expenses, a conclusion had also been reached. Royal expenditures each year would be directly drawn proportionally from taxes on customs, tea, porcelain, salt, textiles, and other sources.
Royal expenses for the coming year were estimated to increase to eight hundred thousand taels.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Chinese polychrome porcelain had developed maturely, but the main export was blue-and-white porcelain.
Zhao Han wanted to help polychrome porcelain open up overseas markets and took this opportunity to give one piece each to the King of Spain and the Governor of the Philippines. Polychrome porcelain was sure to be more in line with the aesthetics of European nobles and would cause a frenzy for it in the future!
It was time to establish a diplomatic department, not only for dealing with foreign countries but also for interacting with Li Zicheng, the Manchu Qing, and the Mongols.
For example, instigating Mongol nobles to attack the Manchu Qing, or sowing discord among the Manchu Qing nobles, and so on.
This organization should not have too much power and should be affiliated with a certain ministry.
Zhao Han had not yet decided whether to affiliate it with the Ministry of Rites; he would discuss it slowly with his ministers in the future.
Meanwhile, Jose and other members of the envoy were arranged to rest at a guesthouse while waiting for Zhao Han's formal diplomatic letter to the Governor of the Philippines.
That evening, he received several pieces of porcelain.
The most exquisite piece was presented to the King of Spain, and the slightly less exquisite one to the Governor of the Philippines. Each member of the envoy received a small, exquisite polychrome cup, and Jose particularly received a teapot.
"This is even more beautiful than Kakiemon porcelain!" Jose was astonished, his hands trembling as he held the teapot and cup.
With just these two gifts, Jose could make a fortune upon returning to Europe.
Once the gifts were delivered, orders could be expected. The Governor of the Philippines would surely send a fleet to purchase polychrome porcelain.
The Dutch would be similar, and perhaps they could even directly trade polychrome porcelain for Marwari horses from India.
Not one-to-one, but one porcelain bowl for several fine warhorses!
Of course, they had to be taught a lesson first.
Zhao Han replied to Sun Chuanting's memorial in red ink: "Barbarian foreigners fear power but not virtue. If the enemy invades, strike and annihilate them!"
Just as the memorials concerning Taiwan were settled, the three Grand Secretaries, along with the Minister of War, rushed to request an audience with Zhao Han.
"Your Majesty," Pang Chunlai said, cupping his hands, "an urgent report has arrived from the north. The Tartars have moved out of Beizhili and withdrawn their entire clan beyond Shanhaiguan Pass."
Zhao Han was taken aback, then chuckled: "They are capable of a decisive amputation."
The situation in the north this year was very strange. Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, and Henan experienced only localized drought, and most areas received frequent rain, with some even experiencing floods – only Beizhili continued to suffer from a province-wide drought.
If the Manchu Qing remained in Beizhili, a major famine was inevitable next year.
Retreating to Liaodong as soon as possible would allow them to replant some grain.
Li Banghua said, "Your Majesty, we should hasten to dispatch troops and occupy Beizhili before Li Zicheng!"
Zhao Han shook his head and said, "A large-scale military expedition is impossible. The epidemic in Beizhili is also serious, and the land is covered in drought and famine. Dispatch light cavalry north to occupy as much as possible. Send some officials there to administer. Do not rush to redistribute land for now; let the people of Beizhili fend for themselves."
Zhao Han was truly out of grain. The previous major wars had already caused grain prices to surge in the south.
The famine victims in Henan and Shandong could only receive token relief. If he were to take on the mess in Beizhili, the livelihood of the southern populace would be severely impacted, and cities might even experience a situation where wages were insufficient to buy rice.
As Zhao Han made his decision, the divisions stationed in the north dispatched their Dragon Cavalry to occupy prefectures and counties.
Within a month, they captured Hejian Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture, but only half of Zhen-ding Prefecture. The other half was occupied first by Li Zicheng, and both sides exercised restraint, not engaging in conflict over territory.
Li Zicheng's side also seemed to have dispatched troops rapidly, occupying as much as they could, similar to Zhao Han.
Furthermore, after occupying cities, they were only willing to administer the cities, leaving the common people outside to fend for themselves. For now, this was the best they could do; self-reliance was better than exploitation by the Tartars.
Li Zicheng's center of rule was closer to Zhao Han, so his troops moved faster.
Xuanfu, Baoan Prefecture, Yanqing Prefecture, half of Baoding Prefecture, and a large portion of Shuntian Prefecture were captured by Li Zicheng. Zhao Han only occupied a small part of Shuntian Prefecture, pushing northwards to Bazhou and Tianjin.
Both sides unthinkingly ignored Yongping Prefecture because it was adjacent to Shanhaiguan Pass – stationing heavy troops there was not cost-effective, transporting grain and fodder was difficult, and without heavy troops, it was prone to Tartar attacks.
After the Manchu Qing retreated to Liaodong, due to a shortage of grain, they did not choose to recuperate but immediately launched a war!
Internally, the Manchu Qing forced the Jurchen tribes to provide grain. If they did not hand over sufficient grain according to regulations, they would slaughter entire tribes and seize their grain, livestock, and women.
Externally, they attacked Joseon to the south and plundered the Khalkha Mongols to the north.
The King of Joseon was driven to despair. He had already submitted to the Manchu Qing, even handing over the King's personal guard's arquebusiers to the Manchu Qing for free use in battles. Yet, they were still plundered, with the northern part of Joseon being almost emptied, and the plague also being brought to Joseon.
In northern Joseon, nine out of ten houses were empty, and famine and plague spread rapidly.
On the Khalkha Mongol side, the Chechen Khanate, which was closest to the Manchu Qing, had also long submitted and paid tribute to the Manchu Qing.
As a result, over twenty thousand Manchu and Mongol cavalry suddenly attacked the Chechen Khanate.
The Chechen Khanate had thirty thousand cavalry, but they were scattered across the grasslands for grazing and could not assemble in time. The Manchu cavalry killed their way to the Khan's court, and Chechen Khan Sholui was killed. His son, Bubu, was enthroned as a puppet Khan by the Manchu Qing.
Sholui did not die unjustly; he had been plotting to betray the Manchu Qing.
Historically, four years later, Sholui instigated the Khorchin tribe to rebel and personally led his entire clan to assist. However, they were defeated by the Manchu Qing, Sholui died tragically, and the Chechen Khanate continued to pay tribute.
The Manchu Qing, on the verge of running out of grain, rapidly obtained sufficient food through internal and external warfare.
However, Joseon was pushed to the brink of collapse, and the Khalkha Mongols were also weakened from then on – although the Manchu Qing did not slaughter the Khalkha Mongols extensively, they seized their cattle and sheep. This winter, many people would starve.
The Great Unity, Great Shun, and Great Qing all suffered from grain shortages.
The Manchu Qing, who appeared to be in the worst situation, was the fastest to recover their grain supplies.