The rise of the poor

"The eighth difficulty is that the combined forces of the host and guest forces are limited, making it difficult to maintain a long-term balance." Zhou Chong continued, with his hands behind his back, "There are countless Japanese pirates in Jiangnan today, including large pirates like Wang Zhi and Xu Hai, as well as smaller pirates with hundreds or thousands of members. Currently, the combined forces of the host and guest forces in Jiangnan are insufficient to cover all aspects, and it is difficult to maintain a long-term balance."

"That's right, we're short-handed. Otherwise, how could we let those little Japanese pirates run rampant?"

The crowd below echoed in agreement, lamenting the current shortage of troops, which made it difficult to deal with the Japanese pirates.

Zhu Pingan narrowed his eyes. Jiangnan did indeed lack troops, especially the garrison troops, which were largely of poor quality. However, the main reason for failing to wipe out the Japanese pirates was that the government troops were too weak and incompetent, practically a rabble.

“The ninth difficulty is the lack of food and supplies, which is difficult to raise.” Zhou Chong continued to explain his ten difficulties and three solutions: “With natural disasters and man-made calamities, northern barbarians and southern pirates, the national treasury is becoming increasingly strained, and it is difficult to maintain food and military pay, making it difficult to raise supplies.”

Zhu Pingan nodded in agreement. This was indeed true; the national treasury was becoming increasingly strained, and there were more and more cases of delayed or unpaid military salaries.

Of course, there were also cases of higher-ranking officers embezzling military pay.
"Ten difficulties: The generals are arrogant yet cowardly, making them difficult to trust."

When Zhou Chong presented his tenth challenge, a chorus of surprised exclamations and murmurs erupted from the audience, especially from the military officers. No one expected that Zhou Chong would publicly criticize a group of generals, and with such harsh words, accusing them of being arrogant and cowardly.

Zhou Chong was not surprised by the reaction from the audience and continued to criticize the generals, "Internally, you are arrogant and domineering, your soldiers are unruly and disobedient. When facing the Japanese pirates, you are cowardly and incompetent, afraid to fight, unable to fight, avoiding battle, fleeing, and collapsing at the first contact. Tell me, how can anyone trust you when you are so incompetent?!"

The generals below the stage were all dissatisfied, but they could only endure it in the face of Zhou Chong, who was the governor.

Currently, there is an emphasis on civil officials and a disregard for military officials. Military officers have a low status and are treated like grandsons in front of civil officials, naturally three ranks lower.

The current situation is as follows: generals command troops, while civil officials recruit and train them; generals supervise the battle, while civil officials are assigned to positions; military strategies are used to defend the borders, while the number of civil officials in the staff is increasing daily; border officials are appointed to manage and pacify the region, while the court is consulted daily on the war and defense.

Simply put, it means that civil officials ruled over military officials!

Therefore, despite their deep resentment, the military officers below the stage had no choice but to accept Zhou Chong's criticism.

Zhu Ping'an strongly agreed with Governor Zhou Chong's summary of the tenth difficulty. The poor combat effectiveness of the garrison troops was largely due to the cowardice and weakness of the generals. Of course, Zhou Chong's criticism was somewhat too absolute, as there were still some generals who performed adequately or even well, such as Yu Dayou, Tang Kekuan, and Lu Tang.

However, overall, Zhou Chong's summary of the ten difficulties caused by the Japanese pirates was superficial, lacking depth and foresight, and failing to address the root causes.

The maritime ban was a national policy that could not be commented on lightly, and it was understandable that Zhou Chong did not mention it. However, the collusion between smugglers and Japanese pirates, the collusion between traitors and Japanese merchants, the neglect of coastal defense, the corruption of officials and soldiers, and many other important reasons were not mentioned. In addition, Japan was currently in the midst of war.

"Hehe, so these are your ten difficulties, Governor Zhou. Let's not comment on them. What are your three strategies?"

Zhao Wenhua twitched the corner of his mouth, saying he wouldn't comment on Zhou Chong's ten difficulties, but his words and expression clearly showed that he disregarded them.

"One strategy is to build more warships, occupy key positions, and attack them when they come and destroy them when they leave." Zhou Chong waved his hand forcefully, as if his hand were the Ming Dynasty's military fleet, and with a wave of his hand, he destroyed all the Japanese pirates' warships.

Zhu Pingan nodded.

Indeed, there weren't many generals who valued the role of the navy at that time, and Zhou Chong's suggestion was quite good.

To drive out the Japanese pirates, defending against them overseas is absolutely crucial. By building more warships and increasing naval power, we can defeat the Japanese pirates who cross the sea and those who flee from the coast into the sea, thus preventing the Japanese pirate problem from occurring.

Zhou Chong then proposed his second strategy: "The second strategy is to gather 500 sand barges to patrol the Suzhou estuary, and select more than 10,000 soldiers to guard the Songjiang River embankment. When the Japanese pirates land, we will ambush them and defeat them decisively."

Zhu Pingan narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing this. This plan still involved warships. Sand ships were inland warships with a shallow draft. Five hundred sand ships could be concentrated at the mouth of the Suzhou harbor, and tens of thousands of soldiers could be stationed at the Songjiang River to protect the embankment. Once the Japanese pirates landed, they could be attacked.
The Japanese pirates weren't stupid. Once they gathered 500 sand barges at the mouth of the Suzhou harbor and stationed over 10,000 soldiers to guard the Songjiang dike, they would avoid this place. The coastline of the Jiangnan region is so long that the Japanese pirates have many places to land.

“The third strategy is to gather five or six hundred light warships from Suzhou and Songjiang to patrol and patrol the Huangpu River, Wusong Lake, and Taihu Lake, so that the Japanese pirates will not dare to advance on foot or sail freely.” Zhou Chong then proposed his third strategy.

Or a warship?!
The crowd below exchanged bewildered glances, feeling that Governor Zhou's first, second, and third strategies were essentially the same: to build more warships, occupy key locations, and send out sentries to those locations.
The second strategy, deploying 500 sand barges to patrol the Suzhou estuary and selecting over 10,000 soldiers to guard the Songjiang River embankment, is also a way to increase warships and seize key positions!
The third strategy involves gathering five or six hundred light warships from Suzhou and Songjiang to patrol and scout locations such as Huangpu, Wusong, and Taihu Lake. This is essentially another way of increasing the number of warships and scouting out key positions.
“Lord Zhou, there’s a question, but I’m not sure if I should ask it.” Zhao Wenhua chuckled as soon as Zhou Chong finished speaking.

Don't say that! Aren't you just looking for trouble?!

Zhou Chong certainly thought so, but he couldn't do it, otherwise he would seem too intolerant.

"Lord Zhao, please speak freely," Zhou Chong said insincerely.

"Lord Zhou, don't you think the ten difficulties and three solutions are incompatible?" Zhao Wenhua asked Zhou Chong slowly.

“What’s not right?!” Zhou Chong frowned.

"Shouldn't there be ten solutions to ten difficulties? Why are there only three?" Zhao Wenhua chuckled and asked leisurely.

Zhou Chong had expected Zhao Wenhua to criticize one of the difficulties or strategies in his "Ten Difficulties and Three Strategies," but he did not expect Zhao Wenhua to ask this question. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly replied, "Strategies are not important as long as they can solve the difficulties."

"A strategy need not be numerous, but effective in solving problems is sufficient! So, Lord Zhou, may I ask, how do your three strategies address the issues of 'the Japanese pirates are cunning and their schemes are difficult to predict', 'the inhabitants are vulnerable and difficult to manage', 'the Japanese pirates have been entrenched for a long time and are difficult to defend against', 'the land is saline and difficult to build a city', 'the lack of food and supplies is difficult to procure', and 'the generals are arrogant and cowardly, and difficult to trust'?"

Zhao Wenhua chuckled and launched an attack using Zhou Chong's Ten Tribulations.

Your three strategies all involve warships and naval forces. How will you solve the problem of food shortages and soil salinization?! (End of Chapter)