Chapter 272 Ningbo Prefecture is very important to the Ming Dynasty and also to the Japanese pirates
In the course of the turbulent history, the ambitious Toyotomi Hideyoshi once attempted to destroy the Ming Dynasty in just two years.

At the same time, he also planned to move the capital to China and rule the world.

Surprisingly, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's coveted target was Ningbo Prefecture.

Why is this?
First, Ningbo is the port closest to the Ming Dynasty in Japan, and its strategic position is of great importance.

This geographical advantage made Ningbo a key hub connecting the two countries, and also allowed Toyotomi Hideyoshi to see a possible way to realize his ambitions.

However, geographical proximity alone cannot fully explain Toyotomi Hideyoshi's desire for Ningbo.

More importantly, the Japanese pirates were able to cleverly take advantage of the regular monsoon power to greatly shorten the time required for navigation.

In this way, they would be able to reach Ningbo more quickly and conveniently and launch their invasion.

It is also worth mentioning that in the previous turbulent incident, it was Ningbo Prefecture that was most rampant in inciting the people to cause unrest.

The instigator of this incident is Li Ziwen, whose family is well-known in the local area and can be regarded as a wealthy and powerful family.

These local powerful forces are deeply rooted and have brought great turmoil and unrest to society.

Zhu Gang vaguely remembered the brave and fearless general who fought against the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period, the Governor of Zhejiang Zhu Wan.

When he was facing despair and was about to commit suicide, he left behind a thought-provoking statement.

"It is easy to steal in foreign countries, but difficult to steal in the Ming Dynasty.

It is easy to get rid of pirates on the seashore, but it is more difficult to get rid of pirates in formal attire. "

The so-called "thieves in formal attire" here undoubtedly refer to those local tyrants who hold high positions but have evil intentions and bully the local people.

They are like poisonous snakes hiding in the dark, constantly threatening the peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty.

During that period, Zhu Gang cleverly took advantage of the opportunity to vigorously promote the two policies of equalizing the land tax and requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together in eastern Zhejiang.

He secretly conveyed his intentions to his cousin Li Wenzhong.

Li Wenzhong then understood what he meant and took quick action.

He collected evidence and expelled all the members of Li Ran's branch of the Li family to the remote and desolate land of Lingnan.

At the same time, Zhu Gang also decisively ordered a comprehensive crackdown on all the gentry and powerful people in the five counties and one state under the jurisdiction of Ningbo Prefecture.

The reason why he acted this way was very clear.

That is to completely cut off the possibility of these people colluding with the Japanese pirates in the future.

Because only by doing so can we truly guarantee the peaceful life of the people in coastal areas and prevent them from suffering from the invasion of Japanese pirates.

However, if we want to completely eliminate this potential threat from the root.

It is obviously far from enough to rely solely on the measures currently taken.

At this point a key question surfaces: How to properly handle the lifting of the maritime ban?
After all, only when the maritime ban is lifted can maritime trade resume prosperity and cut off the economic lifeline on which the Japanese pirates depend for survival.

It is for this reason that Zhu Gang spent so much time and effort to find ways to deal with Japan.

He knew very well that only in this way could the problems brought by the Japanese pirates be fundamentally resolved and ultimately push Zhu Yuanzhang to make up his mind to lift the maritime ban.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gang's face showed deep emotion.

He slowly said, “When the imperial court issued the maritime ban policy, it did not consider the serious consequences that this move would bring.

This decision abruptly severed the entire land-sea trade industry chain that had been formed since the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. The many practitioners closely related to it instantly lost the foundation for their livelihood.

In this huge industrial chain, there are countless hard-working people.

Among them are not only fishermen who make a living by fishing, but also skilled craftsmen.

There are craftsmen who build ships, as well as merchants engaged in legitimate trade activities.

However, now they are in a desperate situation due to this sudden ban and their lives have become helpless.

In desperation, these people had to join smuggling gangs or pirate organizations in order to seek a chance of survival.

Although the imperial court imposed extremely severe legal sanctions on those who dared to engage in maritime smuggling.

However, in the face of the temptation of huge profits, everything seems insignificant.

As a result, the overseas smuggling trade has not been curbed, but has instead fallen into a worrying vicious cycle.

The more the maritime ban was tightened, the higher the price of foreign goods became.

As prices rise, so does the number of ships sailing illegally.

As a result, the situation became increasingly difficult to control, and social unrest in the Ming Dynasty began to emerge. "

If it were in the past, perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang would still have some hesitation and concerns in his heart.

But after hearing Zhu Gang mention that Japan actually had extremely rich silver resources, Zhu's position changed drastically in an instant.

"When you mentioned the overseas vassalage to Dad, I didn't agree.

The main reason was the troublesome Japanese pirates.

I remember that the Yuan Dynasty’s navy made great achievements in the fierce battle for Mongolia to unify the world.

Not only did they seize a large number of Southern Song warships, but they also captured many naval officers and soldiers.

However, even with such a powerful naval force, it suffered two tragic defeats in succession during the conquest of Japan.

Precisely because of this precedent in front of us, we had no choice but to endure the humiliation and suppress our anger towards Prince Huailiang's killing of the Ming envoy!
Now, your words are like a bolt from the blue, making me suddenly realize everything.

I think my father's previous considerations did have some omissions."

Zhu Gang naturally knew very well that the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang misjudged the true combat power of Japan was ultimately due to the deep influence of the experience of the Yuan Dynasty navy.

According to the detailed records in many historical books and related materials, the Mongolian cavalry was able to sweep across the Eurasian continent not only relying on its fierce cavalry that was as fast as lightning.

In fact, in the long journey of conquering the four directions and ruling the world, the Mongolian army has gradually developed from the original single pure cavalry unit to a unit with the distinctive characteristics of the ability to cooperate and coordinate with multiple military services.

Specifically, it is a mixed army group formed by organically combining various types of arms such as cavalry, infantry, navy and engineers.

These armies gradually evolved into a vital and irreplaceable form of military organization when the Yuan Dynasty fought wars in the south and the north and dominated the world.

As the scale of foreign expansion wars continued to escalate and the battlefield fronts continued to extend and expand, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty also successfully captured a large number of skilled craftsmen.

All of these craftsmen were proficient in the top manufacturing technology and process that was unparalleled and second to none in the world at that time.

You should know that since the establishment of the two Song Dynasties, the Maritime Silk Road has been prosperous.

(End of this chapter)