A few days ago, when Zhu Yuanzhang was talking with Zhu Ying, Zhu Ying brought up the issue of Japanese pirates along the coast.

This did not receive Zhu Yuanzhang's attention.

Wokou refers to Japanese slaves and bandits.

Japanese pirates have existed since the Tang and Song dynasties.

However, due to the fact that the Tang and Song dynasties opened up houses for trade, this incident was relatively not that serious. This incident could be considered piracy at best, and it did not form a large scale.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Japanese people in Japan were very much attracted to the culture of the Central Plains, just like other small countries.

The biggest change came from the Mongols.

Kublai Khan, the last Khan of the Mongol Empire, was also the founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.

The King of Goryeo pledged loyalty to Kublai Khan, and with his help, successfully expelled the power of the military officials in the court and allowed the King of Goryeo to regain power.

A year later, at the suggestion of the Koreans, Kublai Khan sent Mongolian envoys to Japan and asked them to submit.

Japan was influenced by the culture of the Tang and Song dynasties, and had good diplomatic relations with the Southern Song, Jin, and Liao dynasties.

And due to the profound influence of culture, Japan looked down upon the Mongols and considered them to be a group of barbarians.

The Mongols were indeed powerful, but there was a sea between the two sides, and the Japanese were not that afraid of the Mongols.

The Mongol envoy Zhao Liangbi stayed in Japan for three years.

However, he was not received by the Japanese Emperor or the Japanese Shogun, so he had no choice but to return.

Kublai Khan was a born conqueror. Wherever the Mongols went, many regions and countries in Asia and Europe were unable to resist. He established an unprecedentedly vast empire.

As a conqueror, the blood of conquest runs in his bones. When all the surrounding countries submitted to him, only Japan not only refused to submit, but also showed contempt.

How could Kublai Khan accept this?

He raised an army of 30,000 and nearly a thousand ships of various sizes, and began the first expedition to Japan in full swing.

Faced with the Mongol army, Japan had no power to resist at all. However, just when it was about to accomplish its great cause, a natural disaster struck and annihilated the Mongol army.

Kublai Khan, who had been going smoothly, was defeated by a small country, which aroused his anger.

Thus began the second expedition.

However, there was another typhoon, and half of the army's soldiers were drowned, and the commander almost couldn't return.

Zhao Liangbi submitted a memorial saying that Japan was a poor country with bad mountains and rivers and its people had no respect for etiquette and laws, so it was not worth sending troops to attack.

However, Kublai Khan was unwilling to give up and continued to plan the third expedition.

However, due to the opposition of a large number of court officials and the chaotic situation in Jiaozhi at that time, Kublai Khan gave up this idea.

It was also because the two expeditions were extremely costly, resulted in heavy losses, and did not bring any benefits at all.

As a result, the Central Plains under the rule of the Mongols was in a state of devastation and the people were living in misery.

In less than a hundred years, the Mongols were destroyed.

The victorious Japan did not have a good time either. Even though it did not directly confront the Mongol army, its losses were extremely heavy.

Among them, the Kamakura shogunate, which won the war against the Yuan Dynasty, eventually perished before the Yuan Dynasty.

The Japanese Kingdom entered the Warring States Period, which is when two emperors appeared, commonly known as the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

At this time, Japan believed that it was blessed by the divine wind and that even the Mongols could not defeat it, let alone the Ming Dynasty, so it suddenly became very confident.

All the envoys sent by Zhu Yuanzhang were beheaded directly.

The Japanese pirates who rose to power during the Yuan Dynasty have already tasted the sweetness of aggression.

The warlords in Japan were divided and fought against each other for power and profit. During the war, they constantly invaded the southeast coast.

Since the reign of Kublai Khan, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty has been getting worse and worse. From the middle period onwards, the succession to the throne was disordered, internal strife was frequent, and coupled with political corruption and intensified conflicts, it had no time to take care of the Japanese threat along the coast.

This also gave the Japanese pirates an opportunity to grow stronger.

When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, the first thing he faced was the long-term development problem and the problem of Japanese pirates left over from the Mongols.

In order to prevent coastal people from colluding with pirates and Japanese pirates, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated a "sea ban" policy, prohibiting private trade and even not allowing fishing at sea.

In the first month of spring in the seventeenth year of Hongwu, Japanese pirates frequently invaded the eastern Zhejiang region.

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Tang He, Duke of Xin, to inspect the sea and build 59 cities on the seas of Shandong, Jiangnan, Bei, East and West Zhejiang, all of which were set up as temporary military governors in the name of preparing for the Japanese invasion.

In February of the 20th year of Hongwu's reign, guards and posts were set up in Liangzhe to defend against the Japanese pirates.

In April of the same year, Zhou Dexing, Marquis of Jiangxia, was ordered to inspect the key points in the four counties of Fu, Xing, Zhang and Quan in Fujian, build sixteen cities on the sea, and recruit civilians as soldiers to guard against Japanese pirates.

Since the 22nd year of Hongwu to the 25th year of Hongwu, the number of Japanese pirates along the coast has decreased a lot under Zhu Yuanzhang's policy of maritime ban and defense.

This is also because Zhu Yuanzhang avoided talking about Zhu Ying’s opinion, or his desire to conquer Japan.

He wanted more to persuade Zhu Ying that there was no need to invade Japan.

Zhu Ying didn't know that Zhu Yuanzhang actually had some knowledge about the territory of Japan.

Zhao Liangbi, who was sent as an envoy to Japan during the Yuan Dynasty, recorded important historical materials such as the titles of Japanese ministers, the names of prefectures and counties, and local customs during his visit to Japan, which were eventually collected by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although a hundred years have passed, there is no mountain of gold and silver as the eldest grandson mentioned.

Just because he loved his eldest grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang did not want to argue too much with him and cause conflict.

However, regarding the issue of Japanese pirates, especially since his eldest grandson was engaged in overseas trade, Zhu Yuanzhang still ordered the Minister of War to report any trace of Japanese pirates along the coast immediately after he returned.

If it weren't for the reminder from his eldest grandson, the court officials and even Zhu Yuanzhang would not have taken the Japanese pirates' rebellion too seriously.

But after being explained by the eldest grandson, the concept became completely different.

"It seems that what our eldest grandson said is right. The war in Japan is over, and those losers are wandering on the sea, and are about to attack the coast of our Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Your Majesty, the coast is too wide, especially with the Japanese pirates frequently attacking weak points, so it will be difficult to maintain it for long." said the Minister of War Ru Heng.

The southeastern coast has a very long coastline, so the Japanese pirates generally did not launch head-on attacks. Instead, they colluded with coastal residents, especially smugglers, to obtain intelligence and then carried out burning, killing and looting.

The large-scale stationing of troops to prepare for the Japanese invasion put a lot of pressure on the Ming treasury.

Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, looked at Ruhong, thought for a moment, and said, "After the morning court tomorrow, you will come with me out of the palace to meet someone."

"I'm sure I can get some insights from him on the matter of the Japanese pirates."

When Ru Hong heard this, she immediately thought of the method of "work-for-relief" that His Majesty had mentioned before.

That strategy was obviously not what Your Majesty had in mind, but was proposed by someone else.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, he instructed: "You are not allowed to publicize this matter for the time being. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ru Hong said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will keep my mouth shut."

At this moment, the sun is setting and the rays of setting sun are shining on the ground of the Huagai Palace.

Thinking that I will be able to see my eldest grandson again after the morning court tomorrow.

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood.