The Eight Banners system integrates military, administrative, economic and other aspects, and Kangxi's most acceptable innovation is naturally the economic aspect, and it was only at the end of last year that the Fourteenth Master was ordered to plan the livelihood of the Eight Banners, which is now the most headache for the imperial court.

This thought, Fang Bao only flashed in his mind, but he didn't say it, it was so simple, the fourteenth master asked him what to do? Since he asked so, he thought that he had other ideas, and after a long silence, Fang Bao spoke: "Fourteenth Master, the Eight Banners system affects the whole body, no matter which aspect it touches, it will affect others, if you don't want to touch the fundamentals, what the emperor is happy to see is nothing more than centralizing power, weakening the rights of the banner owners, and strengthening the imperial power." ”

Yinzhen nodded slightly, Fang Bao's idea is the same as his, weakening the rights of the banner owners and consolidating the imperial power, not only Kangxi is willing to accept it, but the impact is also small, and it will not cause big fluctuations and opposition, the military system and economy are the top priority, his own ideas are too avant-garde, Kangxi is afraid that it is not easy to accept, and he has to wait until he ascends the throne.

After pondering for a long time, Yinzhen ordered: "You summarize the military systems of the past dynasties and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each, in case the emperor asks." ”

Military? That is the foundation of the Manchu state, Fang Bao listened to it, is the fourteenth master want to reform the military system? Or does the emperor want to reform the military system? He didn't dare to think about it, so he hurriedly bowed down and said, "The subordinates immediately started collecting and sorting." ”

Yinzhen changed the topic and said: "If the emperor recovers as before, how will the court situation change?" ”

Kangxi's condition has really changed, it seems that it has improved greatly, no wonder the Fourteenth Master wants to propose the reform of the Eight Banners system, he is trying to offend people, so as to make Kangxi feel at ease, I have to say, his method is really good, the Fourteenth Master is in charge of the navy, in charge of overseas divisions, even if he offends some royal clansmen, he is still a supporter. In this way, he is tantamount to giving Kangxi a chance to balance the situation, although the suppression cannot be avoided, but the intensity will be much smaller.

As a master, Fang Bao has pondered repeatedly about various situations that may arise, and he has considered this kind of behavior a lot. With a slight groan, he glanced up at Yinzhen.

Yinzhen smiled slightly: "If you have something to say, there is no taboo." ”

Seeing Yinzhen say this, Fang Bao also became bolder, and said in a deep voice: "Forgive your subordinates for bluntly saying that the emperor only made the fourteenth master the prince when he was critically ill, even so, he still tested the fourteenth master, which shows that the emperor is deeply afraid of the fourteenth master as the prince."

During this time, the Fourteenth Master was selfless in handling court affairs. There is no hiding of big and small things, which is really far-sighted. But even so, once the emperor recovers, he will still target the fourteenth master everywhere, without him, because the power of the fourteenth master and the eighth master is too huge, and it is completely enough to control the emperor.

The emperor is in his prime, and he is only over sixty years old. Once recovered, out of the maintenance of imperial power, the emperor will inevitably weaken the power of the fourteenth or eighth master. Of course, it is very likely that the Eight Masters will attack first. ”

Yinzhen couldn't help but bow slightly, Kangxi absolutely can't tolerate the imperial power being hollowed out, the former prince Yinren can be said to have been forced to rebel by Kangxi and Starling, but the current situation is very different, Starling and he are at least one party on the surface, the fourth brother has also left Europe, he will not fall into the dilemma of fighting on two sides, but because of this, Kangxi's blow may be much stronger.

What can be done to prevent this from happening? Yinzhen frowned slightly, with the naval expedition to Europe and the Americas, the Qing Dynasty will embark on the fast track of foreign expansion in a few years, he doesn't want to waste his energy on internal friction, before the vigorous expansion, the Qing Dynasty will implement the spread of acres into acres, promote American crops, rectify the rule of officials, rectify the flag affairs, consolidate the northwest, Nanyang, Australia, to advocate Western learning, but also to promote the innovation of industrial and commercial miscellaneous taxes, and develop the 'four constant' loans to promote industrial and commercial development. ..., just think about it, it's a big mess of things, and you can't be busy, how can you have the energy to go to internal friction? Thinking of the 'Four Heng's loans, Yinzhen couldn't help but think of Japan, Japan's gold, silver, and copper are a lot, and he instructed Long Keduo to negotiate with a hard knock, with this compensation, the principal of the 'Four Heng's loans don't have to worry about anymore.

Shanghai to Edo is only a few days of sailing, with the navy's current musket and artillery performance to invade the closed Japan, there should be no suspense, this he is not too worried, he is worried about the safety of the sea, this expedition, although it was approved by Kangxi, but it was not made public, the imperial court is still in the dark, if there is an accident, Kangxi will definitely use this matter to weaken his strength, there is no doubt about it.

Therefore, for the Eastern Expedition to Japan, although Yinzhen is full of confidence, he is not without worries, but he is more worried about the battle with Kangxi for imperial power, and he must have the idea to obtain Kangxi's absolute trust.

*

Ryukyu, Amami Oshima, Amami Port.

In the 37th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, after the Satsuma Domain invaded the Ryukyus, the Satsuma Domain forcibly occupied the Amami Islands and sent 500 soldiers to be stationed on the island.

The meeting place agreed between King Shokei of the Ryukyus and the Thirteenth Elder Brother Yinxiang was Amami Port.

The Ryukyu Kingdom deliberately arranged the meeting place in Amami Port, naturally with the help of the Qing navy to recover the occupied Amami Islands, and no matter what the outcome of the Qing invasion of Japan was, as long as the Amami Islands were recovered, the Ryukyus would not lose money.

After clearing the Japanese in Naha with the assistance of the Qing Navy, Shang Jing then organized more than 20 small sea ships, led by four Qing Navy warships, sailed into Amami Oshima, captured Amami Port, bloodied Amami Oshima, and tightly sealed off the news.

The Satsuma Domain has been entrenched in Amami Oshima for hundreds of years, Kagoshima and Amami Oshima have frequent news exchanges, and no news of Amami Oshima has been received for several days, Shimazu Yoshigui, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, is keenly aware of the accident on Amami Oshima, and sent a ship to investigate, but also into the mud cow into the sea, he was shocked and angry when he landed, and immediately gathered 2,000 people and rushed to Amami Oshima on more than 20 Tang boats.

When people are unlucky, they are stuffed with cold water, Shimazu Yoshiki, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, can be said to be mildewy, twenty-six Tang ships galloped close to Amami Harbor, and found that they were greeted by four Western sail warships, so he felt that the big thing was not good, and when he looked closely, there was not even a flag on the battleship, and he couldn't help muttering to himself, could it be that he had met a pirate, and it was also a Western pirate?

Just when Shimazu Yoshiki was in doubt. The samurai under his command hurriedly came to report, and found a huge Western fleet with flags, and the golden dragon flag on a red background was hung in one color.

Qing Navy! Shimazu Yoshiki hurriedly looked back with a telescope, and when he saw that there were more than 2,000 sail warships in front of him, he was frightened into a cold sweat when he landed, needless to say, this must be the main naval fleet of the Qing Kingdom. They fell headlong into the trap of the Qing people, and he immediately ordered without thinking: "Rush to the southwest, and only by rushing out can there be a way to live." ”

On the flagship of the Nanyang Fleet, Yinxiang, Long Keduo, Shi Shibiu, Lin Wei, Fu Anding and others couldn't help but be surprised when they saw the more than 20 small sea ships flying the circle flag. They had come to Amami Oshima to join the Ryukyus, but they did not know the historical entanglement between Amami Oshima and the Satsuma Domain, nor did they know the Japanese flag, so they thought they were pirates.

Yinxiang turned around and shouted, "Zheng is dedicated." ”

Zheng, who was watching, hurriedly stepped forward to report: "Thirteenth Master." It was a ship of the Satsuma clan in Japan. ”

Japanese? Everyone is in the same place, how did the Japanese come to Amami Port? Could it be that the news has been leaked? ..., Yinxiang immediately ordered: "Order." All auxiliary ships and fourth-tier battleships attacked, and not a single ship was allowed to escape, dead or alive. ”

Seeing the herald waving the flag and giving the order, Yinxiang turned around and glanced at Zheng Qianxin and asked, "Why did the ship of the Satsuma Domain appear here, do you know the reason?" ”

"Go back to the Thirteenth Master." Zheng bowed down and replied, "Although Amami Oshima belongs to the Ryukyu Kingdom, it has only been for decades. It has always been occupied by the Satsuma Domain. ”

When Yinxiang heard this, he knew that he was being used as a gun by Ryukyu, and he couldn't help but laugh in his heart. This Ryukyu country is really a good calculation, but it is good to take it back, and the old fourteenth day will plan to annex even the Ryukyus, which saves a lot of effort.

The Tang ships of the Satsuma Domain could not match the speed of a fast sail warship, and under the attack of the two phases, ten ships were sunk and sixteen were captured in half a day.

The fleet sailed into Amami Port, and the Ryukyu Kingdom's Fenglu doctor Cheng Kezheng and Zhengyi doctor Cai Wen both went to the dock to greet them, and they all witnessed the previous battles, and after seeing the artillery power of the Qing Navy, both of them were full of confidence in the conquest of Japan.

Seeing that Cheng Kezheng and Cai Wen stepped forward to salute with an unusually respectful attitude, Yinxiang was also lazy to think about whether he had done a big deal to repay the grievances, and he had to count on them to lead the way to Edo, and after the two of them finished saluting, he said kindly: "Two lords, these captives and ships of the Satsuma Domain will be handed over to you at your disposal, but after this battle, we can't delay, and we must immediately go straight to Edo to prevent leakage of news and rumors." ”

"His Royal Highness the Thirteenth Prince is very worried, such a big movement must not be hidden, the Ryukyu County soldiers and warships have long been prepared and can set off at any time." Cheng Kezheng bowed and said.

"Yes." Yinxiang nodded and said, "That being the case, without further ado, we will set sail for Edo early tomorrow morning." ”

*

Edo Bay is a natural bay surrounded by the Boso and Miura peninsulas at the entrance, and the narrowest part of the bay is only 8 kilometers, and it is connected to the ocean by the Uraga waterway.

Although Yokosuka was only a small fishing village, it was valued for its strategic location, and after the unification of Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate saw the warships and armed merchant ships of Western maritime powers such as Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, so they built forts in the area around the Yokosuka Peninsula at the entrance to Edo Bay to protect the entrance to Edo Bay and serve as the first line of defense on the sea south of Edo.

The Uraga Waterway is the choke point into Edo Bay, and if you want to attack Edo Bay, you must first destroy the Yokosuka Fort.

Early in the morning of 18 May, more than 60 warships of the Nanyang Fleet of the Qing Navy appeared on the Puga waterway.

The defenders on the Yokosuka Fort suddenly found such a large Western fleet in front of them, and they couldn't help but be dumbfounded, and it took a while to come back to their senses and raise the alarm.

Hearing the siren, the defenders on the Yokosuka Fort immediately rushed to their respective batteries in a mess, Japan has not experienced a war for hundreds of years, these fort defenders are naturally unbaptized by the fire of war, boarding the fort, seeing such a large scale of the Western fleet, all of them have an unbelievable expression, the red background gold dragon flag hanging on the battleship, they don't know either, they don't know which country's warship it is.

Although Yinxiang was itchy and unbearable, he tried his best to control himself, handed over the command of the entire fleet to Shi Shibiu, and went east to Japan, another purpose was to train troops in actual combat and increase the actual combat experience of the generals of the Nanyang Fleet.

Shi Shibi raised his binoculars and took a closer look, then ordered: "Let the Ryukyus send three air warships forward to probe their firepower." ”

After receiving the order, Cheng Kezheng did not dare to complain, and immediately sent three warships to cross the Puga waterway, and a small Qing warship cost 600,000 taels of silver, which was used as bait, which was impossible, and the subsequent wars also relied on those warships to play the leading role, besides, the Qing Navy was also generous, and the more than ten ships and prisoners captured in Amami Port were thrown to them as if they were thrown into rags, where would he have the slightest complaint, and entered Edo, and Ryukyu still hoped to drink some soup. ..., the three warships cautiously moved forward, only halfway to the Puga waterway, the battery on the opposite bank roared, and when they saw the point where the shells fell into the water, the generals of the Nanyang Fleet couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, where is the heavy artillery on the battery, compared to the heavy artillery on Tadpole Island in Manila.

Lin Wei chuckled and quipped: "Anding, which is the farther range of this artillery compared to your mountain howitzer?" ”

The mountain howitzer has the shortest range among the artillery, and Fu Anding smiled when he heard it: "They can't have field guns prepared on the battery, right?" ”

"No, this should be their battery heavy artillery." Yinxiang smiled and put down the binoculars, and said: "We used to develop firearms are heavy artillery, light muskets, after the prince created the navy, the muskets have made great improvements, and the Wazi Kingdom is just the opposite of us, they are heavy muskets, light artillery, and spare no effort to improve the muskets, but they do not attach importance to artillery." However, everyone should pay enough attention to their muskets, and the Japanese people called the muskets iron cannons, and the Japanese iron cannons were already very famous in the former Ming Dynasty. ”

When Lin Wei heard this, he said curiously: "The Japanese musket is better than the Spanish one?" Can it be compared to the muskets of the Navy? ”

"That's not comparable, of course." Yinxiang smiled slightly and said: "Before leaving, the prince specially told that the Japanese are the best at imitation, and you must strictly order your soldiers not to lose a musket and a cannon, let alone let the Japanese people touch our firearms, so as not to imitate them." ”