Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

“It’s like this, Your Majesty,” the Deputy Commander of the Left Army said. “I also have a friend…”

The Marquis of Yongchang interrupted with a sneer. “Heh, despicable.”

The Deputy Commander retorted with conviction. “Despicable? Fine! It’s a eunuch!”

The other generals and marquises were equally impassioned.

“Your Majesty! Let’s fight!”

“Your Majesty! As long as we can avoid those cursed winds, the mere Wokou! I could wipe them out with a snap of my fingers!”@@novelbin@@

“Your Majesty! I volunteer to lead the vanguard!”

“I’ll take the Left Army!”

“I’ll lead the right flank!”

Ironically, the old emperor, who had been fired up earlier, now cooled down and began deliberating.

“Hold on. We can’t send troops just yet…”

[What are we waiting for?!] Xu Yanmiao was growing impatient. [Curse my lack of seafaring experience! If only I could point out that there’s more than one mountain of gold and silver over there, the old emperor would immediately give the order!]

The old emperor shook his head inwardly.

Xu Yanmiao still didn’t fully grasp state affairs. Launching a military campaign was never that simple.

“War isn’t something you play at…”

[There’s a gold mine near Kurokawa Valley in northeastern Kai.]

The old emperor: “…”

Suppressing the growing temptation, he pressed on with his reasoning.

“Crossing the sea to wage war is indeed feasible if we use nearby islands as logistical bases, but since Wokou also reside on islands, we might force them into submission temporarily, but long-term governance would be challenging…”

[In the south, there’s also the Yuminoo gold mine cluster, about six mines altogether…]

“Although such challenges aren’t insurmountable…”

The old emperor struggled to continue.

“Still, we must consider the transportation issues after conquering them. Without proper governance and merely looting resources, transporting them back to the Central Plains would consume enormous manpower and resources, particularly in grain. And you might not know this, but the resources of Wokou aren’t grain—they’re minerals. To convert those minerals into grain, we’d have to trade with neighboring nations. If there were a natural disaster or other calamities, and the empire faced a grain shortage, I fear…”

The old emperor sighed deeply.

“Even with gold and silver, they wouldn’t be edible then!”

[Then there’s Shinano, Musashi, Suruga… these areas have about twenty-eight gold mines, I’d estimate?]

[Ah! That’s right!!!]

[The Ashio Copper Mine! At its peak, it produced two million catties of copper annually!]

[Two million catties of copper!]

Two million!

Enough to alleviate the critical shortage of copper!

The old emperor’s hand trembled, and he abruptly declared—

“But actually, gold and silver aren’t entirely inedible.”

Under the bewildered gazes of local officials and feudal lords, the old emperor astonishingly changed his tune.

“I’ve just thought of a solution. We could first force the Wokou into submission with a treaty, requiring them to pay an annual tribute to the Central Plains. As for transportation, the grain consumed would be borne by the Wokou themselves.”

Wealth stirs ambition.

As long as there’s money involved, nothing is impossible.

Before today, the old emperor had never imagined himself capable of reacting so quickly, devising strategies at such a speed.

The Marquis of Yongchang also surprised himself with his swift response.

“Your Majesty! I have a plan to trap the Wokou!”

“Quickly, speak!”

“The Wokou’s maritime location is their greatest advantage. Anyone wishing to attack them must first train a navy and build ships. Crossing the sea to wage war is already a strategic taboo, being highly costly. Additionally, their land is barren, mountainous, and prone to earthquakes. Even if conquered, it would be a hollow prize. Thus, most wouldn’t bother making a move against them.”

—Of course, this assumes one doesn’t know about the gold and silver mines over there.

Several officials nodded in agreement.

Waging war burns through wealth. Though the silver mine producing five million taels of silver annually may sound impressive, if one were to lead an army of 100,000 to the Western Regions (modern-day Xinjiang), that amount wouldn’t even cover travel expenses.

Before the Zhou and Xia dynasties, there were many other dynasties. One of them, a powerful state, sent troops to conquer the Western Regions. It took three years to achieve victory, and the campaign was akin to filling a bottomless pit, costing a total of 26.7 million taels of silver.

After conquering the region, they stationed troops there, incurring annual expenses of 8.5 million taels, nearly the same as the wartime expenditure.

If they were to conquer the Wokou islands, the military expenses might be even greater—after all, the Western Regions didn’t have such rugged mountains or frequent earthquakes!

The Marquis of Yongchang’s throat moved, and his eyes practically sparkled—possibly reflecting the gleam of gold and silver mines.

“But! This is also Wokou’s disadvantage! If we blockade them at sea, sealing off their islands, they won’t be able to break through!”

The naval strength of the two sides wasn’t even comparable.

“Using the islands surrounding Wokou as bases—for instance, Tamna Island to their north, as well as Tsushima Island, Iki Island, and others around Kyushu Island, which the Zhou Dynasty attacked first—we can occupy these islands with our navy, completely cutting off the Wokou’s sea routes. Then we can force the Wokou king to sign a treaty, paying annual tribute.”

“Excellent!!!”

The old emperor struggled to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising. Though visions of gold and silver mountains were already forming in his mind, he maintained a serious demeanor.

“As expected of my Marquis of Yongchang! Truly worthy of the title!”

He then turned to the county magistrate of Qingpu. “Now, do you have any objections?”

The Qingpu magistrate bowed respectfully. “I have no objections, Your Majesty.”

The Marquis of Yongchang’s plan essentially extended the logistics line directly to the seas near the Wokou islands. After all, the occupied islands could be used by the navy for fishing, farming, and fort-building, with the entire Great Xia Empire as their backing. When the season of the cursed winds arrived, they could retreat to Great Xia in advance.

If the Wokou refused to surrender…