After Ye Yuxuan read the information from China, he summoned his confidant Yoshikawa Kosuke. Although there were snowflakes outside, Ye Yuxuan's office was as warm as spring, which made Yoshikawa Kosuke, who was used to the cold, not used to it at first, and sneezed several times in a row.

Yoshikawa Kosuke hurriedly apologized to the official, Ye Yuxuan didn't mind, but motioned for him to sit in front of his desk, poured him a glass of warm rice wine for him, and said cordially: "This kind of snowy day is really suitable for a drink, this is the Shaoxing rice wine I brought from China, you can also taste it, and the taste of Japanese sake is very different." ”

Kosuke Yoshikawa picked up the wine glass with both hands and dried it down, then said: "Sure enough, it is the taste in my memory, I haven't tasted such authentic Shaoxing rice wine for a long time since I returned to Japan, and Japanese sake is still too light." ”

Ye Yuxuan couldn't help but smile and said, "I forgot, you have also been in Beijing for several years, but you should have tasted this wine." I'm going to leave Japan next spring, and when I think about it, I feel a little nostalgic for my life in Osaka. ”

Kosuke Yoshikawa immediately said, "Please rest assured that even if you leave Osaka, the Governor's Mansion will still obey your instructions." ”

Ye Yuxuan bowed his head slightly and said, "Don't persuade me to obey, but obey His Majesty the Emperor." Only under the wing of His Majesty the Emperor can Japan become a normal country. For example, now, His Majesty the Emperor intends to give Japan a chance to go on the right path, and I don't know if you can seize it. ”

Yoshikawa Kosuke was stunned for a moment, and then quickly said with ecstatic: "Really, Your Excellency? As long as Japan is restored to normal, no matter what the cost, we are willing to pay. ”

Ye Yuxuan put down the wine glass in his hand, looked at the other party and said: "This year's year in Japan is very bad, many places have failed to harvest due to bad climate change, if it weren't for the rice shipped from Ryukyu and Korea, the farmers of the western Japanese domains would have rioted a long time ago."

But it seems to me that even if we don't encounter such extreme weather changes this year, Japan's farmers will revolt sooner or later. After all, Japan is a small island country, and as long as it enters a long period of peace, there will inevitably be troubles such as a large number of people and a lack of land, and the output of land will be difficult to feed everyone.

Although there is still some land in various parts of Japan that can be developed, it is still a drop in the bucket. Not to mention the fact that the idle samurai class took up most of the land output, making it even more meagre for the commoners to share. Under such circumstances, it is difficult for Japan to maintain a stable social order, let alone become a normal country.

Therefore, expanding the living space and finding a way out for Japan's surplus population must be the first task of you, the officials of the Governor's Office. As for the five elders and their entourage, they are just a group of foolish people who do not know the trend of the trend, and if they are allowed to control Japanese politics, it will be a disaster for Japan.

In the tasks ahead, I want you and your colleagues to take responsibility and not give it to others. ”

Yoshikawa Kosuke never thought of handing over the power in his hands to the five elders and swearing allegiance to the pedantic and conservative shogunate elders, after all, the Japan in his mind was completely different from the Japan in the minds of these elders. Therefore, he immediately readily agreed with Ye Yuxuan's words: "Your Excellency is right, the future of Japan should be in the hands of young people with a future, not in the hands of a group of pretending old men. ”

Ye Yuxuan continued with satisfaction: "In fact, the Governor's Office has also made some attempts to expand Japan's space outward, such as those bankrupt farmers and ronins sent to the Americas. For now, they are well adapted to the climate of the Americas. However, the Americas are still far away from Japan, and if you want to immigrate in large numbers, the current technology for transpacific navigation is still insufficient.

In Asia, the place where Japan can expand its living space is probably in the South Seas. Previously, a large number of Japanese people migrated to the Philippine Islands, and they adapted very well locally, especially in Luzon, where there is a large amount of land that can be developed and utilized.

Therefore, His Majesty thinks that since the Spaniards can come from thousands of miles away to occupy the islands in the South Seas, there is no reason why Japan cannot. Moreover, if Japan wants to become a normal country, it must first prove that it does not have the strength of a normal country. Spain's power in the South Seas was second only to that of the Dutch, and as long as Japan defeated it, no one would question Japan's ability to defend itself. ”

"Spaniards? Luzon? Kosuke Yoshikawa asked excitedly: "Is Daming going to war with the Spaniards?" So how many people are we going to send to the Philippine Islands? ”

Ye Yuxuan shook his head and said, "No, it's not us who are at war with the Spaniards, it's Japan that is at war with the Spaniards. Of course, the Ming Dynasty will support Japan behind its backs and will not let other European countries side with the Spaniards. Of course, for the time being, they have little power to help the Spaniards defend the Philippine Islands. ”

Kosuke Yoshikawa was taken aback when he heard this, as the economic director of the Osaka shogunate and a graduate of Yenching University, he knew better than all Japanese people the connection between war and economy. With the current financial situation of the Osaka shogunate, it was barely able to support a medium-scale land war in the country, but sending troops to the South Seas to challenge the Spaniards estimated that the war was not over and the Osaka shogunate's finances were about to collapse first.

Therefore, the excitement he had just now suddenly disappeared, and he looked at Ye Yuxuan and said humbly: "But with Japan's current strength, if it wants to cross the sea to attack the Philippine Islands, I'm afraid it will not be enough, and we can't even get together the ships to transport the army." We are still very willing to fight under the command of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Ye Yuxuan smiled, and while picking up the wine jug to pour wine for the wine glasses of the two, he said, "No, this is a war between Japan and the Spaniards. The Ming Dynasty will intervene in this war, but only before the war is decided.

One thing you have to be clear about is that if Japan cannot defeat Spain alone, it will not be able to claim to be an independent country in front of these European countries.

As far as Da Ming is concerned, we have just ended a war, and it is impossible to immediately provoke another war against European countries, which will make Da Ming fall into the common hostility of European countries. Although the Ming Dynasty is not afraid of these European countries, we now have huge economic interests with Europe, so Your Majesty is not willing to lose the big because of the small.

Of course, whether it was the ships that transported the army, the weapons and equipment of the army, or the funds for the war, the Ming Dynasty would support Japan in other ways. As an economic officer, you will ask the Central Bank of Japan to issue a 3 million yuan treasury bond when you go back, of which 1.5 million yuan will be underwritten by the Ming Central Bank.

With this money at the bottom, the Ming Dynasty will sell a transport fleet and a batch of arms to Japan, enough for Japan to fight the war. Now do you have any questions? ”

Yoshikawa Kosuke pondered for a moment before asking, "I wonder how this war should begin?" And how do you end it? ”

Ye Yuxuan glanced at Yoshikawa Kosuke approvingly, being able to ask such a question shows that the other party has almost grasped the core of the war. Unlike himself, Ye Yuxuan knew how many resources the emperor had invested in himself before he could form his current overall view, and Yoshikawa Kosuke was purely a personal talent.

"The best time to sail from Japan to the South Seas is in April and October. If you want to fight the Spaniards in the Philippine Islands, it is not enough to do without the strength of two divisions. In order to avoid risks, Japan's declaration of war on the Spaniards should be chosen within the above two time periods. April is too urgent, and October is after the autumn harvest season in the Philippine Islands, so it is obviously more appropriate to send troops in October.

The best excuse for Japan to declare war on the Spaniards was, of course, to protect the expatriate. Over the years, the company has developed 1.5 million acres of land in the Cagayan Valley and the plains north of Manila, and has leased nearly 2 million acres of land that the Spaniards could not cultivate.

Sihai Trading Company has immigrated more than 7,700 Chinese, more than 23,000 Japanese, and more than 50,000 Vietnamese to Luzon. The new Governor of Manila and some of the old estate owners were so covetous of the company's renovated land that they were now trying to scrap their contracts with the company and take back most of the farmland.

For this reason, they did not hesitate to unite the natives of the island, incite the Vietnamese, and deceive them into allocating land to the natives and Vietnamese as long as they could drive the company away from Luzon.

What I mean is that with the help of the small actions of the Spaniards, the rebellion of the natives and the Vietnamese was triggered in advance, and the Osaka shogunate could send troops to the Philippines in the name of protecting the overseas Chinese. In terms of timing, it is best for this rebellion to be triggered in August, so that the Osaka shogunate can send troops in October after receiving the news.

As for how to end this war, as long as the Japanese army advanced under the city of Manila, the Ming Dynasty would naturally stand up to mediate and force the Spaniards to accept the armistice negotiations.

This war is under your full command. I'll explain everything to the others, Yoshikawa-kun, don't disappoint me. ”

After listening to Ye Yuxuan's layout, the worry in Yoshikawa Kosuke's heart suddenly decreased a lot. He moved his body back, and then saluted Ye Yuxuan: "Please rest assured, even if I am crushed, I will definitely complete the task assigned by Your Excellency..."

In the first month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the fleet led by Zhao Yiwei finally saw the seagulls chasing the fleet and driftwood on the sea after more than 2 months of travel and six storms, which means that the fleet is quite close to the land.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, the fleet finally saw the endless coastal mountains of the North American continent, and two days later the fleet arrived in the port of Los Angeles. Compared to five years ago, Los Angeles is the largest colonial city on the West Coast of North America.

Los Angeles is surrounded by mountains on three sides and has a coastal area, which not only blocks the cold current from the north, but also has plenty of water. The fertile soil of the Los Angeles River Valley in the south has become a major site for agricultural and livestock development, and the flat terrain makes such reclamation not difficult. The trees that have been cut down can be turned into building materials for the city, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, most of the Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese who came from the west chose to stay in Los Angeles. The Chinese's tolerance of religion and living customs also caused many Indian tribes and white sailors to migrate to Los Angeles.

By the time Zhao arrived, the port city had a population of more than 4,000 people, one-third of whom lived within the city walls, and two-thirds had chosen the vacant space between the city and the port to establish their homes.

The dense vegetation of the Los Angeles Basin makes the city like a bonsai growing in the jungle, and Zhao Yiwei fell in love with this wild city at first sight.