Chapter 907

“Your Majesty, merchants are now very eager to open up the Japanese market. Having tasted the sweetness of Goryeo, their appetites have now

“Your Majesty, merchants are now very eager to open up the Japanese market. Having tasted the sweetness of Goryeo, their appetites have now grown. Li Kaiyuan has reflected the merchants’ calls to me many times.”

Seemingly discerning Xiao Ming’s thoughts, Pang Yukun seized the opportunity to speak.

Coming to his senses, a smile appeared on Xiao Ming’s lips. Li Kaiyuan now held the title of Chairman of the Political Consultation Council. Merchants’ demands and requests directly went to him.

This way, the merchants’ voices appeared in the imperial court, and many merchants were thus reassured.

Xiao Ming was not surprised by this demand. This was a demand that would inevitably arise with the development of industry and commerce. With increasing industrialization, while satisfying the Great Yu Empire’s domestic needs, merchants needed to sell goods to other markets to regain funds. This was a virtuous cycle.

Precisely because of this, in the process of European industrialization, they actively vied for colonies to expand their product sales markets. This way, their domestic industry and commerce could continuously strengthen, forming a virtuous cycle.

And once the market languished, and merchants made no profit, industrial development would lack momentum, which was fatal to a country.

In contemporary times, Xiao Ming sometimes understood but did not deeply experience this. But now that he was Emperor, he understood the purpose of some national strategic advancements.

Ultimately, whether it was fighting wars or establishing trade organizations, the goal was to seize market share.

Previously, the Great Yu Empire was an agricultural country. Self-sufficiency meant not worrying about this. But now, the transformation into an industrial country forced him to embark on this path of vying for market share.

“The Japanese market, it is indeed very tempting. However, this Lord Yamada of Japan is quite stubborn.”

“No matter how stubborn, can he be tougher than our shells?” Pang Yukun said teasingly.

Hearing this, Xiao Ming laughed. Now, commercial taxes had almost doubled every year, which also shocked Pang Yukun. His old concept of clinging to agricultural taxes began to change, gradually shifting his focus to commercial taxes. So, it was normal for him to seek benefits for merchants now.

“Senior Grand Secretary Pang’s words are quite interesting. Indeed, Japan will not shed tears until it sees the coffin. It’s time to give them a good beating. A market of over twenty million people is very tempting,” Xiao Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly.

For the Great Yu Empire, Japan currently posed no threat. The main land threat came from the north.

But attacking a losing war in the north immediately after ending the war in the south was unwise.

For Xiao Ming, at this stage, the Great Yu Empire’s wars had to become more profitable with each battle, only then could a stable growth of national strength be achieved.

Therefore, fighting Japan was a profitable war, while fighting the Golden Tent Khanate was a losing war. Comparing the two, he preferred to fight the profitable one first.

This way, by filling his coffers, he would have the capital to invest in the losing war.

Pang Yukun’s reminder solidified Xiao Ming’s resolve. After casually instructing the ministers of the Grand Secretariat, he returned to the inner palace.

After the war in the south ended, Niu Ben and Luo Quan had both returned to Qingzhou. He immediately summoned the two to discuss the attack on Japan.

…

July 9th, an order departed from the imperial palace and arrived in Dengzhou.

Yue Yun, receiving the order, looked excited. Facing the naval generals, he said, “The Emperor’s order has arrived. Now, we will finally deal with Japan.”

“Long live our Emperor!” The naval generals shouted in unison, their faces beaming with joy.

These generals mostly came from coastal fishing villages and had been constantly harassed by Japanese pirates. Their hatred for Japan had never diminished.

For a year, although they besieged Japan, their purpose was merely to blockade and cut off Japan’s communication with the outside world.

But now it was different. This time, they would lead the army to directly land in Japan, reasoning with Japan with cannons.

“Immediately assemble the marines! This time, His Majesty places great hopes on us, to have our navy independently resolve the Japanese matter. As the saying goes, ‘training soldiers for a thousand days to use them for a short while,’ His Majesty has always taken good care of the navy these years. This time, we cannot disappoint His Majesty.”

“Yes, General!” The naval generals shouted loudly.

“Dismissed.” Yue Yun had the generals return to prepare. He called Liu Chen, who was about to leave. Liu Chen was an important marine general.

“This time, there will probably be a tough battle. We can only succeed, not fail. When the south was fighting, His Majesty, despite the pressure, re-equipped the marines with Falcon Rifles.” Yue Yun said. He understood that the purpose of this was to open the Japanese market.

But to make Japan open its domestic market, they had to defeat Yamada Nobunaga. Only if Japan conceded defeat could this plan succeed.

“Thirty thousand marines are no pushovers, General, rest assured.” Liu Chen’s expression was firm. Currently, the most prominent names in the army were Lu Fei, Luo Xin, Lei Ming, Qi Guangyi, and others.

As for them, being in the navy, they had achieved little during this time, seemingly forgotten in a corner.

Now, for the first time, the Emperor had entrusted a heavy responsibility to the navy. He felt that the glorious era belonging to the navy was about to arrive.

Not only him, but Yue Yun also noticed it. With domestic conflicts resolved, the Great Yu Empire would surely make its presence felt at sea. After all, the warships of Western nations had been patrolling the waters south of the Great Yu Empire.

And in their eyes, that was the Great Yu Empire’s backyard, not to be touched by others.

“Good. I will wait and see,” Yue Yun nodded in satisfaction.

After seeing Liu Chen off, he looked at the map of the waters around Japan. After annihilating the Japanese warships in Suwon City, the Japanese navy suffered severe setbacks. The remaining warships had been hiding, avoiding combat with them.

And to eliminate this last of the Japanese navy, they had been searching at sea but with no result. This time, he decided to directly dock at Busan City harbor and launch a frontal attack on the important Japanese coastal town of Nazukin, which was contemporary Fukuoka.

Because this city faced Busan in Goryeo, and the strait between them was the shortest distance, he did not believe Yamada Nobunaga could sit still.

Having settled this matter, three days later, Yue Yun led his fleet towards Busan City. This time, he commanded seventy-two warships to Busan City, including sixteen hybrid-powered warships built this year.

Two days later, the fleet successfully arrived at Busan City. At the Busan City pier, he saw Ye Qingyun, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.

“Yue Yun.”

Meeting an old friend, Ye Qingyun smiled happily. Ye Qingyun used to be the governor-general of Dengzhou, and the two had worked together for a long time, with a very close personal friendship.

“Army Commander Ye, it’s been half a year since we last met.” Meeting an old friend, Yue Yun was also in a good mood. However, when he saw the neatly arrayed soldiers behind Ye Qingyun, he asked, “Did you also receive the Emperor’s order?”

“Of course. But rest assured, I still can’t manage all of Goryeo’s affairs, and I don’t want to meddle in Japan’s affairs again. This time, I’m only responsible for providing you with supplies.”