Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Hearing this obviously hostile tone, the entire Fengxian Hall suddenly fell silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright on the dragon throne, looking down at the officials in front of him. After a long while, he slowly spoke:

"Have you forgotten why we stationed our navy in Zhapu?"

After the words were spoken, the officials looked at each other.

Of course they knew why the navy was stationed in Zhapu, but they did not dare to respond easily because of Zhu Yuanzhang's current tone.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang did not embarrass them. He simply raised his hand and pointed at Zhu Chong and said:

"King Qin, please explain why we stationed our navy at Zhapu."

Hearing his father's name being called, the King of Qin stood up and replied loudly without saying a word:

"Because Zhapu is located at the largest seaport in Zhejiang Province, Japanese pirates like to sneak into the Ming Dynasty from this seaport in small boats."

"After entering this seaport, you can enter the Cao'e River and land at Shangyu County, or you can go directly to Hangzhou along the Qiantang River!"

As soon as the King of Qin finished speaking, the censor spoke again and took over the conversation.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates are indeed extremely despicable, but our Ming Dynasty only needs to be on guard. We really shouldn't start a war lightly!"

"The Japanese pirates are just a tiny country, far away overseas. They pose no threat to the Ming Dynasty. If we attack them, it will only cost us a lot of money and manpower!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes narrowed and he asked, "Not a threat?"

After saying this, he turned to look at the Minister of War Tang Duo without waiting for the censor to speak.

"Tang Duo, tell me, how many civilians have been killed and how much damage has been caused by the Japanese pirates who have invaded the Ming Dynasty over the years?"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, Tang Duo sighed inwardly.

He is not a fool, otherwise he would not be able to sit in the position of Minister of War.

Zhu Yuanzhang had said this, and it was obvious that the expedition against the Japanese pirates was a foregone conclusion, and it would be difficult to dissuade him.

Under the gaze of many officials, Tang Duo slowly spoke:

"In the first year of the Hongwu reign, Japanese pirates invaded Fujian, burning, killing, and looting. They emptied coastal villages and slaughtered 148 civilians."

"In the second year of the Hongwu reign, your majesty sent five envoys to fight against the Japanese pirates, but they were killed by them, and only two envoys returned alive."

"That same year, Japanese pirates again invaded the Shandong coast, robbing over 400 civilians, burning four villages, and taking away a large amount of property."

"In the third year of the Hongwu reign, Japanese pirates attacked Zhejiang, plundering Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Mingzhou, killing thousands of Ming civilians."

When Tang Duo was speaking, the Fengxian Hall was as quiet as a ghost cave, and no one spoke.

However, one could clearly hear the sounds of numerous heavy breaths, and it was obvious that the officials were not at peace.

Every story that came out of Tang Duo's mouth was the bloody experience of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

However, this was just the beginning, and Tang Duo continued speaking.

"In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign, Japanese pirates once again invaded the Fujian coast, not only attacking coastal towns but also looting merchant ships."

"In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, they also invaded Fujian, killing over 350 civilians in the Ningde area, burning over 1,000 houses, and looting 250 dan of grain."

"In the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, Japanese pirates once again invaded the Shandong coast, plundering Dengzhou, Laizhou and other places, causing incalculable casualties and losses."

"To this end, Your Majesty has issued an order to strengthen the defenses of Shandong's coastal areas, dispatch naval patrols, and establish garrisons."

Having said that, Tang Duo paused and took a deep breath before continuing:

"Last year, the 13th year of the Hongwu reign, Japanese pirates invaded the coastal areas of Jiangsu and plundered Songjiang (now Shanghai) and other places."

"Fortunately, the navy was able to dispatch troops in time and wipe out all the invading Japanese pirates, thus minimizing the losses from this attack."

Tang Duo stopped talking here, and then Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the censor and asked:

"Now, do you still think that the Japanese pirates are not a threat to our Ming Dynasty?"

Upon hearing this, the censor quickly bowed in response.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates are indeed extremely despicable, but in the final analysis, they are just a minor infestation and are not a threat."