Chapter 194: A Long Way to Go



Both Zhao Hao and Qi Jiguang were among the few people of that era who could realize the importance of collective hygiene to group health.

The security team, who were taught by both of them, paid great attention to keeping the environment clean and their personal hygiene wherever they went. Not only were the decks polished and the military appearance very neat, but even the prisoner-of-war camp had hygiene regulations, and anyone who dared to violate them would be severely punished.

Besides, feces is like gold soup, how can it be wasted? So it is necessary to arrange for someone to pour out the night incense. In any case, this job is easier than hard labor, so Wang Rulong let the two highest-ranking prisoners do this job.

The old Inukai Matasaburo of the Matsuura family wanted to pour night incense for his master, but he couldn't get it...

~~

The two dung carriers also saw Master Zhao surrounded by people and knew that the real boss had arrived.

Park Sung-in was still okay, but Songpu Jin-shin dropped the dung bucket on his shoulder and ran towards Zhao Hao.

The guards quickly blocked his way, kicked him over, and pinned him to the ground.

Zhenxin continued to struggle desperately and yelled.

"What did he say?" Zhao Hao asked curiously. Although he had watched many Japanese films, his understanding of Japanese was limited to some titles and imperative sentences.

Staff Officer Zhen quickly translated for the young master: "This fellow asked to be given a sword, he wants to cut open his abdomen."

"Fuck, again?" Wang Rulong's mouth twitched as he said, "Sir, ignore him. He keeps shouting that he wants to commit suicide and eats more than anyone else. If he really wants to commit suicide, he can starve to death by fasting."

"That's not true." After listening to Zhen Shuang's translation, Zhen Xin explained loudly: "Only seppuku is worthy of a noble samurai! And seppuku can only be performed with a katana, or at least with a wakizashi, otherwise it is not in accordance with etiquette."

"That's really sophisticated." Young Master Zhao praised with a smile, and said to Wang Rulong with a smile: "This aristocratic mentality is not good."

"Yes, this shows that the labor reform is still not in place!" Wang Rulong quickly reflected: "We need to continue to reform ourselves, and reform ourselves for two more years."

"Well, pouring night incense is a good method. It can touch the soul from the nose. Even the top nobles of the Ming Dynasty like Master Xu and Master Xiaogong can be transformed." Zhao Hao smiled and nodded, "How could a small Japanese village chief not be transformed?"

As he said this, he looked at Park Sung-in who had been carrying the dung bucket obediently and said, "This kid has been reformed quite well."

"It is my honor to serve the Celestial Empire." Park Sung-in nodded and bowed quickly, saying, "Please forgive me for not being able to perform the full ceremony while wearing armor."

"Haha, very good." Zhao Hao felt that this boy had a sly look and had the temperament of a traitor to Korea, so he ordered: "Wait until his brother comes, and then release him."

"Thank you for your grace, sir. I will set up a longevity tablet for you!" Park Sung-in looked at Master Zhao's back with tears of gratitude.

"Let his brother take his place." Park Sung-in almost fell headfirst into the dung bucket when he heard Zhao Hao, who had already walked far away, say this.

But then she thought that it was her elder brother who had caused her to be in this situation, and that she deserved it for him to pour incense for her for a few nights. She quickly adjusted her mood, glared at Zhen Xin who was still lying on the ground, and said, "Baga, get out of the way, auntie!"

Zhenxin shrank his neck in fear, as if he had been beaten badly by the other party recently. He had no choice but to stand up, pick up the bucket, and follow Park Sung-in to happily clean the toilet.

~~

Zhao Hao came to the dock and told Chen Huaixiu that he was going to Jeonra Island. If he didn't come back after she unloaded the cargo, he would wait for two days and go back after meeting Park Chengxing.

Such a large fleet stopped at Gapado Island, which must have attracted the attention of the Joseon people on Jeonra Island. It was hard for Park Yu-shih to remain calm...

After instructing Haierge who stayed behind to be careful and alert to guard against sneak attacks, Zhao Hao, Jin Ke and Wang Rulong boarded a Wuwei ship. Under the escort of two other Wuwei ships, they slowly sailed out of the cape and headed north towards Jeju Island.

Zhao Hao first visited the Wuwei ship that he had bought at a high price with great interest. But he soon lost interest. This kind of warship produced by a private shipyard had a backward design and rough workmanship. Apart from being strong, it was really unremarkable.

Well, being strong is a big advantage.

His eyes finally fell on the hull, which had some bullet holes and burn marks.

"These are all left over from the last battle." Wang Rulong introduced in a deep voice.

Zhao Hao nodded and asked softly, "How should we arrange for the wounded soldiers?"

"Eight were killed in the battle, and three were seriously injured and died later. Eleven have been buried at sea according to the custom." Wang Rulong said solemnly, "It is impossible to send their bodies back at this time of year. We can only preserve their hair and relics and bring them back to build a cenotaph in the future."

"Yes." Zhao Hao nodded and ordered in a serious tone: "I have already instructed General Manager Hua to build a martyrs' cemetery of the highest standards on Xishan Island. And a hero memorial hall will record our achievements in every battle and remember the names of every martyr."

"Yes!" Jin Ke and Wang Rulong straightened their chests and put their feet together, some strange emotions stirring in their hearts.

"Where are the wounded?" Zhao Hao asked again, holding the railing.

"Except for a few people with minor injuries who have recovered, all others have been sent back to Jiangnan Hospital by boat." Wang Rulong said in a deep voice.

"The pensions for the injured and dead soldiers must be implemented according to the highest standards." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice: "All disabled police officers who are unable to serve, as well as the families of the fallen police officers, will be sent to Xishan Sanatorium to enjoy the same treatment as veterans. For those who really don't want to go to Xishan Island, they will continue to receive monthly payments to allow them to live with dignity!"

"Yes!" The two men responded again with red eyes. "Your Excellency's great kindness, the soldiers will never forget it! We are willing to die for you!"

"You're too kind. This is what the soldiers deserve." Zhao Hao looked at the vast sea and said with a sigh, "I haven't done enough. These things should have been arranged before the expedition."

"It's not your fault, young master. We also didn't expect the battle to come so early and be so brutal." The two said hurriedly.

"Uh..." Zhao Hao was stunned when he heard this. He thought that a casualty ratio of 1 to 100 couldn't be considered tragic, right? However, it was always good for generals to nitpick in this regard. So he didn't respond and continued:

"Before, I intentionally or unintentionally ignored many things about the security team at home. This time, after fighting overseas, all of them were exposed. From a small perspective, we didn't have flags or ship numbers, and our flag and light signals were incomplete. From a large perspective, our warships are not suitable for modern naval warfare with large-scale use of artillery. Not only are our cannons few in number, but their quality is also too poor."

As he said this, he pointed to the two large guns that took the lead at the bow and said, "These falcon guns can only serve as secondary guns on Portuguese ships. On Spanish ships, they are not even qualified to be secondary guns, but they play the leading role on our ship. Is this reasonable?"

"Outrageous." The two men shook their heads together. They had known that although Master Zhao could not fight, he had a deep knowledge of military theory, especially in hot weapons and naval warfare. He was an undoubted advocate of giant ships and heavy artillery, which was completely opposite to the mainstream concept of the Ming Dynasty.

"Last year, Zeng Yiben, the lord of Fujian and Guangdong, led 40 warships and more than 2,000 people to attack Macau, but was defeated by dozens of red-haired cannons on a caravel. More than 600 people died, but they still didn't get close to the enemy."

"And according to intelligence, the Portuguese Malacca fleet has begun to replace their ships with the latest galleons. While retaining multiple decks and powerful firepower, these ships have become faster and have excellent maneuverability against headwinds." Zhao Hao became more and more anxious as he spoke:

"In this way, our Fuzhou and Guangzhou ships will lose their advantage of flexibility. Their ships are as tall as buildings. If we want to board them, it will be like attacking a city at sea, which is extremely difficult. I am afraid that even ten ships cannot defeat one of their ships."

"Yes..." Zhao Hao's words made the two men break out in sweat.

Although they had heard of the Portuguese's strong ships and powerful guns, they had never expected the gap in strength to be so huge. Although the two were full of pride, they also knew that in a naval battle, personal bravery was not the first priority, but the power of the warships and guns was the decisive factor.

"I didn't want to tell you about this so early. After all, our fleet can sail freely on the sea of ​​Northeast Asia." Zhao Hao smiled apologetically at the two people with serious expressions and said, "Besides, it is not your responsibility to improve the power of warships and artillery. But since we have already started a war with Hirado Domain, it is very likely that we will face the Portuguese. Those red-haired barbarians have a deep relationship with them. If I don't remind you, you will suffer a great loss."

"Will the Portuguese warships also come here to interfere?" Wang Rulong asked in surprise, "Can't they only go to Haojingao?"

"After he goes out to sea, who cares where he goes? Who can stop him?" Zhao Hao glanced at the slightly naive living devil and said, "The red-haired barbarians have a little more hair, but they are much smarter than monkeys. They burned, killed and looted all the way from Europe to the Ming Dynasty along the coastline. They didn't intend to be polite to us. They wanted to occupy Hong Kong as a base and conduct colonial trade. However, they were defeated by the Ming navy in the Tuen Mun and Sai Cao Wan naval battles, and then they retreated to Malacca in disgrace."

"They knew they couldn't conquer the Ming Dynasty by force, so they changed their strategy and used tricks to achieve their goals. First, they asked to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty. After paying tribute several times, they used the excuse that the tribute ship had hit a reef and was leaking, so they stopped at Haojingao and asked for temporary land to repair the ship and dry the tribute. They achieved their goal through bribery."

"After they gained a firm foothold in Macau, they paid land rent to the government, which made the Guangdong government tacitly acknowledge their lease of Macau. Later, they actively cooperated with the government to suppress bandits, made friends and bribed people, etc., which lowered the vigilance of the Guangdong officials and gave them the right to trade in Guangzhou, as well as the right to tax exemptions, etc. In this way, they achieved the effect step by step, which they could not get even by launching a war."

Listening to Zhao Hao's words and looking at the nearby Tamra Island, the two suddenly had a flash of enlightenment. The young master was afraid that he would follow the prescription and take this important maritime location at the crossroads of China, Japan and North Korea step by step.

"We are in a much better position than the Portuguese. Naturally, we don't need to be as careful as they are. It doesn't matter if we make three advances a day."

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