EMHTC -Chapter 56 Seven Stabs to the Back—Suicide!

“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!”

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

“I’ll take the Left Army!”

“I’ll lead the right flank!”

“Your Majesty! I have naval combat experience!”

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…

It wouldn’t matter. A single island nation going against a country—no matter how skilled the island’s warriors were, they could only watch helplessly as their opponent’s logistics continuously replenished soldiers, weapons, food, and all other strategic resources.

—With the country’s resources, it could afford to lose many times, but the island nation only needed to lose once to be utterly ruined.

After some thought, the Qingpu magistrate added, “If Your Majesty is concerned about governance after conquest, all Wokou could be relocated to a smaller, resource-poor island.”

The officials who didn’t grasp the reasoning reflexively asked, “Why?”

Those who did understand inhaled sharply, staring at the magistrate as though he were a venomous strategist from antiquity.

The magistrate calmly continued.

“If they are confined to an isolated island with limited resources, they will naturally turn on each other in competition, fragmenting themselves. This will suppress their population growth. Additionally, Great Xia could trade with one faction annually, bringing them resources they lack. To secure Great Xia’s favor, they would strive to curry favor and submit to us.”

“As for the now-vacant Wokou islands, they could serve as another place for Great Xia to exile criminals.”

Since it would be an exile site, there wouldn’t be much need to worry about disaster relief in the event of typhoons or earthquakes.

Poisonous, truly poisonous.

But the old emperor found himself admiring the magistrate more and more. He immediately promoted him.

“Once you return to Qingpu, prepare to hand over your duties and resign.”

The magistrate’s face showed a trace of delight. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace.”

Seeing the magistrate’s restrained reaction, the old emperor felt slightly out of sorts.

—Officials in the capital, influenced by Xu Yanmiao’s thoughts, had grown notably expressive in their emotions.

Feeling mischievous, the old emperor raised the stakes. “Although you haven’t yet resigned, to me, you’re no longer the magistrate of Qingpu. I hereby appoint you to the Ministry of Justice as an Assistant Director. Once the official document arrives, you may assume the post.”

“Thank Your Majes—”

【If we’re going to attack the Wokou, what reason should we use? The envoy’s disrespect toward the Great Xia Emperor should suffice, right?】

A voice suddenly interjected, disregarding whether the magistrate had finished speaking.

The newly appointed Assistant Director paused mid-sentence, completing his thanks as he frowned, wondering which official could be so rude. But then he heard the voice again—

【If that’s not enough, I remember coming across a reasonable justification to intervene…】

【Found it!】

The newly appointed Assistant Director of the Ministry of Justice keenly noticed not only that the emperor’s gaze drifted in a certain direction but also that many capital officials’ eyes uncontrollably followed the same path.

“?”

【As expected! Among the envoys, there’s the son of the Wokou Emperor! He’s hiding his identity!】

“?!”

The Assistant Director sensed that this person probably didn’t realize their thoughts were being overheard; otherwise, they wouldn’t have spoken in such a self-muttering tone.

Moreover, it seemed that others could hear it too.

But how could such a bizarre thing exist in this world!

The old emperor glanced at the Assistant Director’s clearly astonished expression and, finally satisfied, happily continued listening to Xu Yanmiao’s inner voice.

The son of the Wokou Emperor! And then?

【I recall many historical instances where suzerains intervened in their vassals’ internal affairs. For example, during Emperor Wen of Zhou’s time, there was a Western Region state where an uncle usurped his nephew’s throne. Emperor Wen issued an edict demanding the uncle cease hostilities and uphold familial bonds.】

The old emperor clicked his tongue twice, looked around, and called the newly appointed Assistant Director forward. “Beloved minister, what’s your courtesy name?”

“Your subject’s courtesy name is Guangcai.”

“Guangcai, ah. I seem to recall… Emperor Wen of Zhou himself seized his nephew’s throne to ascend, didn’t he?”

The Assistant Director: “…Yes.”

That was indeed the case, but why did the emperor appear so amused, as if finding the situation unexpectedly funny and interesting?

You’re an emperor; why are you acting like a village gossip? Is this really appropriate?

【I wonder if the Jinyiwei has discovered the Wokou prince in the delegation yet. Somehow, with the old emperor’s shamelessness, I feel like he could turn this prince’s presence into a spectacle.】

The old emperor felt Xu Yanmiao’s inner commentary was truly unflattering.

Shameless? Him? How?

Several months later

Wokou Country

The Wokou king held the freshly delivered letter from Great Xia, his face pale as wax, his expression like he had swallowed a fly. “How could my son possibly request Xia to send troops?!”

The Great Xia envoy, refined and polite, replied, “The prince claimed that the Emperor’s Decree of Mercy for All Living Things has driven the nation into despair. The people are prohibited from eating meat, and in his appeal to Great Xia, their suzerain, he begged us to save the suffering Wokou citizens. Naturally, my emperor refused—how could we meddle in another country’s internal affairs without cause?”

The Wokou king breathed a sigh of relief, his face lighting up with a smile. “Yes, yes…”

The Great Xia envoy’s expression turned mournful, his tone shifting to one of lamentation. “Alas, the poor prince, driven by concern for his people, took his own life to plea for intervention…”

He clapped his hands, signaling attendants to bring forth the body of the Wokou prince, who had allegedly died by “self-inflicted seven stabs.”

“The prince’s profound care for his nation moved my emperor deeply. Thus, he has resolved to launch a punitive campaign to alleviate the people’s suffering. I have been dispatched to inform His Majesty the Emperor—”

“Let it not be said you were not forewarned.”