No, I was just a concubine, how did I become the queen?

Chapter 463 Japanese pirates

"We encountered pirates again?" Wei Wu frowned.

There are many bandits and pirates in Fujian. After the branch factory opened here, it suffers from disasters almost every quarter.

However, the sweet potato cultivation in this place has been longer than the master's promotion, so it is easier to promote it with national recognition.

In other words, almost every household in Fujian grows sweet potatoes, and the branch factory established locally is very profitable.

Unfortunately, it was always robbed and no matter how many more people were sent, it was of no use.

Yu Niang said, "This year's harvest is good, so we are especially worried about you. We can't exceed the limit on the number of thugs we hire."

Of course, there are cases where private businessmen employ an excessive number of servants and thugs, but since the people do not report it and the officials do not investigate, no one cares.

But the person behind their factory is the Fourth Master. If the prince employs more people than the required number, then the problem will be very different.

They can only grit their teeth and find a solution themselves.

"I'll go there myself and see which link is broken," Wei Wu decided.

The local officials have already paid tribute, so there is no reason to allow their factory to be robbed.

To be arrogant, the local tax revenue now depends on this factory.

Officials don't have to do anything and just lie at home, and political achievements and money will come rolling in. It is impossible for them to deliberately make things difficult for them.

That's what's happening in Fujian. Something really big is happening!

Yu Niang was now also experienced, and she immediately said, "I'll go with you."

Wei Wu did not refute. After all, he was the steward appointed by the master, and Yu Niang was the deputy steward.

The two of them have been discussing things all the time. This factory is not run by one person alone.

Neither of them was the type to procrastinate. After making the decision, they reported to Lin Mingyan and headed south with their men.

When Lin Mingyan got news from them again, she also received a bombshell - the Japanese pirates had made a comeback.

It turns out that the pirates in Fujian were not local at all, but a small group of Japanese pirates who fled from Japan.

However, since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese pirates had not harassed Japan for a long time due to their own internal strife and the Qing Dynasty's maritime ban policy.

The comeback at this moment makes Fujian a little wary.

Their first reaction was not to report it to the court, but to conceal it.

After all, under the policy of maritime ban, the Japanese pirates were allowed to come ashore and harass the people. This was their dereliction of duty.

More importantly, this small group of Japanese pirates was not only powerful, but also willing to cooperate with them.

Anyway, it wasn't the government office that was robbed. If they turned a blind eye and collected benefits from both sides, wouldn't they be making a fortune?

It's also their bad luck that Lin Mingyan's sweet potato processing factory has become the largest economic entity in the local area. Sooner or later, this group of people will set their eyes on this piece of fat meat.

As soon as the problem occurred, Wei Wu took people to the scene to check.

He reported to the Fourth Master before he left. The Fourth Master was so stupid that he guessed that something went wrong there.

He immediately reported it to Emperor Kangxi, who sent someone to lead the troops to follow.

Only then did we find out!

On that day, the court was in an uproar over the Japanese pirates.

Some people think that this group of Japanese pirates are stray dogs who escaped from their own country. Don’t you see that they dare not use their real identities when doing things?

So after eliminating them, there is no need to bother with Japan anymore, since it is none of our business anyway.

Another group of people believed that this was a provocation from Japan to the Qing Dynasty. If we don't teach them a lesson, how can we enhance the prestige of the Qing Dynasty?

For several days, the court argued back and forth, but no conclusion was reached.

When Lin Mingyan heard what the Fourth Master said, her fists almost clenched: "Should we attack Japan?"

At this time, Japan should be ruled by the shogunate, and the people are very dissatisfied.

If we really take it down, it will be a great thing.

However, compared to the territory of the Qing Dynasty, the territory of Japan is really useless, and it is not worth spending so much manpower and material resources on it.

More importantly, whenever a war breaks out, the people will always suffer first.

The Fourth Master frowned, not really knowing which faction to support. "These pirates weren't really sent by Japan. They must have been unable to survive there, so they've returned to their old ways to clean up the meat."

"If we really want to attack Japan for this little thing, it would be fine if we can conquer it, but if we can't, it will be troublesome."

Although the Qing Dynasty's navy was also training, Japan was too far away and there was no guarantee that a quick victory would be achieved after an attack.

Besides, Japan currently poses no threat to the Qing Dynasty.

"In fact, the Japanese will sooner or later be dissatisfied with their own resources. The Qing Dynasty is right next to them, and they will definitely covet our piece of fat meat," Lin Mingyan said carefully.

The reason they are not attacking now is because they are too busy to take care of themselves and have no ability.

Once they follow the West's footsteps and complete the Industrial Revolution, won't they immediately pounce on us and try to occupy our territory?

The Fourth Master raised his eyebrows and said, "There are so many people who covet the Qing Dynasty. The small country of Japan doesn't even have the ability to do that!"

There was a strong sense of confidence in his words. After all, the productivity of the Qing Dynasty was leading, and its national strength and manpower were not comparable to those of a small country like Japan.

But times are changing. If he knew that such a tiny country almost conquered such a large territory, he would probably be furious.

Lin Mingyan recalled the difficult period described in history books and said with a firm look in her eyes, "How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed?"

"Even if he doesn't have the ability now, maybe he will have an opportunity someday."

"If we don't fight when we are strong enough, our descendants might suffer when we are weaker."

She still couldn't help but give a small reminder.

As for whether the Fourth Master would have any ideas and whether he could persuade Emperor Kangxi, she had no choice.

But if a fight really breaks out, she still has a lot of sweet potatoes and will donate them all!

After hearing what she said, the Fourth Master thought more and more that it made sense.

"Chacha sees things clearly," he praised, his eyes darkening.

Even a woman in the inner chamber like Chacha has blood, but their prince is strongly opposed to attacking Japan.

It wasn't because of any noble cause for the people, but because he was afraid that the prince, who had made great military achievements, would gain some advantage in this campaign against the Japanese invaders.

As a member of the prince's party, he remained neutral, which made the prince dislike him.

If you still support Prince Zhi's political views at this time, you will be suppressed to the end.

But Cha Cha is right. From a long-term perspective, the Japanese pirates are still determined to commit evil.

Now that our country is strong and prosperous, if we don’t clear the obstacles for future generations, will we be nurturing a tiger to cause trouble?

The Fourth Master did not enter the backyard for three consecutive days. He discussed preliminary opinions with his advisers in the front yard and then hurried into the East Palace.

The prince tightened his grip on the teacup and said with a grim expression, "Ask me to support the eldest brother? Fourth brother, are you crazy?"

He is the crown prince, and he is someone else's supporting actor?