Chapter 641 The Shocking Plan
Using the terrifying atmosphere created by the "killing the imposter father" incident, Li Shiyue began a thorough purge and consolidation of her forces.
She knew all too well that a fortress is most easily breached from within.
Within the Zhenhai Navy, there were some middle and upper-ranking officers who, relying on their early service to her and some personal connections with her, were secretly arrogant and occasionally overstepped their bounds.
Now, Sun Xiaoliu, acting on Li Shiyue's secret orders, joined forces with the newly established "Military Supervisory Office" to launch a silent storm under the guise of "rectifying military discipline and eliminating laziness."
Three sergeants who had complained while drunk that Li Shiyue wouldn't allow them to go out and visit brothels during their leave were found guilty of "colluding with foreign enemies and leaking military secrets" and were beheaded in public the next day.
A battalion commander who had been fighting alongside Li Shiyue since she was just a junior officer, taking advantage of his status as a former subordinate of Li Shiyue, was stripped of all his posts and sent to the most dangerous sulfur mine to do hard labor, his fate left to chance.
The inspection process was swift and decisive, and the results were ruthless.
There was no trial, no rebuttal, only the cold, impersonal seal of the Grand General that Li Shiyue ultimately stamped.
The actions of the "Supervisory Military Office" instilled fear in the entire Zhenhai Army.
All the small cliques based on personal relationships and regional differences were instantly broken up, and the army's command system suddenly became more flat and efficient, leaving only absolute obedience to Li Shiyue.
Zhenhai Army has finally become the sharpest and most obedient knife in Li Shiyue's hands once again.
While consolidating the internal stability of the Zhenhai Navy, Li Shiyue also set her sights on the vast ocean.
The East China Sea route is her lifeline and the source of her wealth and power.
She officially issued the "Maritime Decree," announcing that any merchant ship intending to trade with Japan, whether from Jian'an Port, Sanshan Port, Dongmou Port, or Jiangnan, must apply to the Zhenhai Navy for the "Li" flag and pay "escort fees" according to the value of the goods.
Ships flying the "Lee" flag will be protected in shipping lanes and ports controlled by the naval forces.
Those who sail without a flag are considered pirates, and the naval forces have the right to seize the ships and confiscate the goods. All people on board will be treated as pirates and killed without exception.
This decree caused an uproar in the East China Sea.
Li Shiyue is not just trying to get people to buy her "Li" flag voluntarily, but forcing them to buy it!
That's absolutely domineering!
However, even if Li Shiyue did not make this rule, no large merchant firm that wanted to engage in maritime trade would dare not buy her "Li" flag.
After all, the amount of silver that Li Shiyue wanted was just a small sum for them;
For these large trading companies, this was already within their predetermined "losses".
From then on, on the East China Sea, the "Li" escort flag became a more reliable pass than any divine protection.
The continuous flow of "escort fees," like the lifeblood of gold, poured into Li Shiyue's coffers, supporting her enormous military expenditures and construction costs.
In this way, she completely seized control of East Asian maritime trade.
However, this wealth and power did not satisfy Li Shiyue; instead, it fueled her even greater ambitions.
She needs continuous victories and plunder to maintain the fighting power of her naval forces and further weaken the power of other forces in other parts of Japan.
Li Shiyue was no longer satisfied with controlling western Honshu and the area around Osaka Port. She began to systematically launch conquests on the territories of powerful nobles on Kyushu and Shikoku that had not yet explicitly submitted to her or were secretly plotting against her.
The purpose of this campaign was very clear: it was not to occupy land, but simply to deplete the population of other parts of Japan and plunder the wealth of the local nobles.
The Zhenhai Navy's warships will suddenly appear on a coastline somewhere, and the elite marines will land like wolves and tigers in fast boats, heading straight for the main city or prosperous county on that coast.
Those who resist will be mercilessly slaughtered, and cities, warehouses, temples, and noble families will be looted.
The gold, silver, and grain they had accumulated were quickly loaded onto the naval ships and transported away.
After completing their looting, the Zhenhai Army did not linger but quickly retreated back to the sea, leaving behind only a scene of devastation and towering flames.
Li Shiyue called this tactic "harvesting leeks," harvesting the wealth accumulated by the Japanese nobles one crop after another.
She only attacked the great nobles and temples; she did nothing to the common people.
The same applies to the administrative system within the territory she occupies.
Her subordinates were a diverse group, including people from Andong Jinzhou Prefecture who had followed her from the beginning, minor Japanese nobles who had submitted to her due to circumstances, and displaced scholars recruited later from various prefectures of Dalong.
Taking this opportunity, Li Shiyue implemented the "performance evaluation method," using hard indicators such as mine output, tax revenue, port throughput, and population growth in the jurisdiction as evaluation standards.
Those who worked for her were rewarded handsomely for meeting the standards in their respective areas, while those who failed to meet the standards were immediately dismissed. If anyone was found to be corrupt or outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, their homes would be confiscated and their heads would roll.
A vertical management system was established that completely bypassed the original local Japanese forces and was accountable only to Li Shiyue.
Power, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, was concentrated in the hands of Li Shiyue with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
A highly efficient, ruthless ruling machine, serving only her will, began to rumble and operate at full speed.
Five years passed quickly, leaving deep marks on the land ruled by Li Shiyue.
Osaka Port, a once bustling trading city, has now expanded many times over.
The towering watchtower overlooks the harbor, and the large black flag with the character "Li" on it flutters in the sea breeze.
The port was packed with ships, not only the menacing warships of the Zhenhai Army, but also ships from Jian'an, Sanshan Port, and even the distant southern lands.
Without exception, they all displayed the "Li" character escort flag, symbolizing passage and protection, in the most conspicuous position.
Further inside, the workshop area is filled with the constant roar of machinery as it smelts silver ore that is continuously transported from the Iwami and Ikuno Ginzan mines.
These five years were a period of plunder and accumulation for the territory ruled by Li Shiyue.
Zhenhai Army's conquests of other Japanese-controlled areas never ceased. The wealth accumulated over hundreds of years by the Japanese nobles in Kyushu, Shikoku, and even eastern Honshu was repeatedly plundered by Zhenhai Army and turned into heavy silver ingots to fill Li Shiyue's seemingly insatiable treasury.
Meanwhile, the Iwami Silver Mine and the Ikuno Silver Mine, through near-exploitation, finally contributed a huge amount of silver, enough for Li Shiyue to complete his astonishing plan.
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