Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the others suddenly felt a tremor in their hearts. Ke Zhiming even lowered his head slightly – just now, just after Ke Zhiming uttered the words "Kwantung Army," His Majesty's finger-tapping on the table actually paused!
The last time such a slight pause occurred during his tapping was because of trouble brewing in Old Port and Lanfang. The time before that was during the cleansing of the Israelites within Great Ming. And the time before that was when Fuk'anggan massacred a village.
Ke Zhiming, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the others couldn't fathom why His Majesty would pay such close attention to the words "Kwantung Army."
However, no matter how perplexing it was, Ke Zhiming could only continue his report truthfully: "After Tojo Nijūhachi（东条二十八） had mustered and organized the Kwantung Army, he began a large-scale recruitment of laborers in India."
"Compared to the previous relatively lenient methods of the British and Dutch East India Companies, as well as Tojo Kojiro（东条小次郎）, Tojo Nijūhachi's methods were much more ruthless, employing various acts of burning, killing, and looting almost without restraint."
"However, precisely because Tojo Nijūhachi's methods were too harsh, a large number of Indians chose to defect to the British and Dutch East India Companies or Yamamoto Kojiro, which greatly accelerated the progress of Indian labor recruitment."
As Ke Zhiming finished speaking, the atmosphere in Wenhua Hall fell into silence.
The Imperial Guard was a violent intelligence agency, and its position in the Great Ming court was to handle dirty work. While the executioners of the Imperial Guard would restrain themselves somewhat within Great Ming, outside its borders, the Imperial Guard was somewhat lawless, to the point of being notorious.
As the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Ke Zhiming's true nature was self-evident.
For Tojo Nijūhachi to elicit the description "too harsh" from Ke Zhiming, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, was truly remarkable.
Zhu Jinsong tapped his fingers on the table and said in a deep voice, "The Japanese have always been like this; you ministers need not pay too much attention."
Zeng Cheng glanced at Zhu Jinsong, somewhat bewildered.
Pay attention?
Pay attention to what?
As the Grand Secretariat of Great Ming, did I, Zeng, care about how many heinous acts Tojo Nijūhachi committed?
To put it bluntly, Tojo Nijūhachi was merely a dog. When it obeyed, it was thrown a bone; when it disobeyed, it was beaten to death. I, Zeng, simply did not care about the life or death of a mere dog!
What caused me, Zeng, to fall into silence was that the idiot Tojo Nijūhachi, under the guise of recruiting laborers, was committing these misdeeds – the deeds could be done, laborers could be recruited, but this scoundrel should not have done it under the banner of Great Ming!
After some thought, Zeng Cheng bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, I believe that Tojo Nijūhachi's numerous killings in India are truly against heavenly harmony."
Liu Hemming also stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I concur. Especially since Tojo Nijūhachi dares to form what is called the Kwantung Army, his disloyal heart is already obvious, and his crime warrants death!"
This was an offer to hand over a knife – Emperor Zhu, clearly displeased by the words "Kwantung Army," naturally needed a suitable reason to eliminate Tojo Nijūhachi and the Kwantung Army, being the head of the Five Military Commissions.
However, to everyone's surprise, Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "He's just a Jap. Why bother with him? Whether he calls himself the Kwantung Army or the Japanese Army, let him be."
Zhu Jinsong was indeed very displeased with the words "Kwantung Army," but as Zhu Jinsong said, he was just a Jap. It was normal for Japs to do inhuman things; it would be a ghost appearing in broad daylight if they did something decent.
As for the words "Kwantung Army"... the moment he heard them, Zhu Jinsong truly wished to kill Tojo Nijūhachi, even harboring an impulse to completely destroy Japan.
Fortunately, Zhu Jinsong had managed to suppress his killing intent.
This was because the paper used for wiping oneself, Japan, had not been fully utilized yet.
Chuckling again, Zhu Jinsong directly shifted the topic to India: "If Tojo Nijūhachi and Tojo Kojiro quickly pacify the entirety of India, should our Great Ming then prepare to relocate its people there?"
The high-ranking officials present once again fell into silence.
If viewed purely from a theoretical perspective, Great Ming naturally should prepare to relocate its people to India. After all, with such a vast territory, wouldn't it be a waste if no people were moved there?
However, from a practical perspective, the so-called relocation of people was like a joke. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Revenue, Great Ming's current population was five hundred and seventy million, which was one to two hundred million more than the peak population of the Great Qing.
While an extra one to two hundred million people seemed like a lot on the surface, it was actually of little use.
Firstly, Liaodong, Eastern Siberia, Central Siberia, Jiaozhi, Burma, Siam, Old Port, Lanfang, Korea, and other territories all belonged to Great Ming and were now its Provincial Administrative Offices.
Before these territories came under Great Ming's jurisdiction, Emperor Zhu Jinsong, along with ministers like Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming, had not done anything good.
The basic operation was to keep the land but not the people.
It was certain that the slaughter was too heavy, and the reputation was bound to be stained. However, the benefits of such actions were also obvious – as long as people were relocated, these territories could be stabilized, and there would be no fear of rebellion and reversion like Jiaozhi during the Yongle era.
Secondly, Zhu Erdan and Zhu Sanshun were setting out to their respective enfeoffed lands overseas.
The fief of one was Alaska, and the other was Louisiana. Both these territories also required the relocation of a large number of people. Forget about one or two hundred thousand; even twenty million would be but a drop in the bucket.
According to the estimations of Zhu Jinsong, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, Liu Huaiwen, and others, Great Ming would need to relocate a total of two hundred million people to these two enfeoffed states in the future.
In this way, five hundred million people did not seem like many; in fact, it felt like there were clearly not enough.
Vast territory, sparse population!
After another period of silence, Liu Huaiwen spoke, "Even if Tojo Kojiro and Tojo Nijūhachi are as ruthless as they are, they cannot possibly pacify India immediately, right? As long as we wait until next year, Great Ming's population will increase further. Perhaps we can even reach fifty-five hundred million, and then we won't have to worry about having no people to relocate."
However, Zeng Cheng glanced at Liu Huaiwen faintly and retorted, "Even if our Great Ming has enough people to relocate, will the frontier garrisons not also need to increase?"
Liu Hemming immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, defending the country is our duty. If we are to relocate people to India, our Great Ming's armies will naturally have to be stationed there to guard our Great Ming's territories and protect our Great Ming's people."
Upon hearing Zeng Cheng and Liu Hemming's words, Liu Huaiwen was suddenly dumbfounded. Increasing the garrison in India was not simply about adding a few military camps. For instance, outposts would need to be established in areas where India bordered the Ottoman Empire, and there would also need to be armies ready for combat.
This meant that the number of Great Ming's troops had to increase, which in turn meant that the military budget of the Five Military Commissions would reach new heights.
Thinking further, one would need to consider the governance of the local environment. According to intelligence from the Imperial Guard, the environment in India was generally in a terrible state; there was nothing they wouldn't ruin. If Great Ming wanted to relocate people there, it would naturally have to manage the local environment properly.
In addition to the environment, there were also roads, bridges, rivers, railways, electricity, post stations, social schools, and a host of other miscellaneous matters that required investment.
Adding up all these miscellaneous investments, Great Ming's national treasury...
Liu Huaiwen suddenly shivered and whispered, "Even a landlord does not have surplus grain. Our Great Ming's national treasury has always been empty."
Zhu Jinsong ignored Liu Huaiwen, who was shamelessly complaining about poverty, and instead directed his gaze at Ke Zhiming: "Has the Imperial Guard estimated Tojo Nijūhachi and Tojo Kojiro's progress? How much longer will it take them to pacify India?"
Ke Zhiming bowed and replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, in about half a year, the entire Indian subcontinent will be basically pacified. After one year, India will only have some collaborationist committees established by Tojo Kojiro, and the remaining Indians will become laborers."
Zhu Jinsong's recently subsided killing intent flared up again.
Kwantung Army?
Collaborationist committees?
These Japs were truly skilled at naming things!
Forcibly suppressing his killing intent, Zhu Jinsong simply instructed Zeng Cheng, "Minister Zeng, please consult with the other Grand Secretaries and ministers to discuss how to handle the situation in India and come up with a plan in advance."
Zeng Cheng immediately bowed in agreement, and Wenhua Hall once again fell into silence. Even Emperor Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of Great Ming, felt a bit depressed for a moment – first there was George III, that idiot causing trouble, then there was Hamis, that idiot causing trouble, and now even India was experiencing unexpected developments?
Damn it, none of these bastards were following Great Ming's script properly!
As he thought about it, his anger grew. Zhu Jinsong then looked at Ke Zhiming and asked, "Do you have any other news? Tell me all of it."
Ke Zhiming first bowed in agreement and then began to report truthfully: "According to reports from Imperial Guard agents lurking in Austria, the art student with the little mustache from Austria has officially risen up and fought several battles against the Habsburg family, with most of these battles concluding in victory for the art student with the little mustache."
Liu Hemming chuckled and said, "After all, the art student with the little mustache studied at our Great Ming's military academy. It's only natural that he wouldn't lose to those useless Habsburgs."
Ke Zhiming ignored Liu Hemming and continued, "As for the student studying abroad in France, de Gaulle, he seems to be highly regarded by Louis XVI and Napoleon. Some time ago, there was news that de Gaulle had begun preparing the new French army."
Zhu Jinsong was not surprised by these two pieces of news.
The art student with the little mustache was an ambitious fellow. He was better behaved when he was serving the Habsburg family in Austria. However, who knew what madness possessed Francis II of Habsburg to send the art student with the little mustache to study in Great Ming?
Now, the art student with the little mustache had indeed come to study in Great Ming and had learned a great deal. Now this fellow was applying all his skills to deal with the Habsburg family.
De Gaulle's situation was similar to that of the art student with the little mustache. He had also learned a great deal. However, before de Gaulle came to study in Great Ming, France's previously dire financial situation had been greatly alleviated, and its military strength had significantly increased. Therefore, it was natural for young de Gaulle to be entrusted with important responsibilities by Louis XVI.
After all, Napoleon, who had studied in Great Ming earlier, had already earned the title of the "God of War of France." Since de Gaulle's academic performance in all subjects was slightly better than Napoleon's, he was naturally highly valued by Louis XVI.
Ke Zhiming continued, "In addition, it seems that the art student with the little mustache has reached some kind of agreement with de Gaulle and Alexander of the Russian Tsardom. The Imperial Guard has not yet obtained specific details."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Jinsong's interest was piqued.
The art student with the little mustache? De Gaulle? Alexander?
If one were to speak frankly, the art student with the little mustache and de Gaulle did not have any direct conflict. Even though France had previously beaten the Habsburg family like a third-rate grandson, the enmity between France and Austria was not that deep.
The Habsburg family was the Habsburg family, and Austria was Austria. They were related, but they could not be treated as one and the same.
Especially since the art student with the little mustache was now also in conflict with the Habsburg family, de Gaulle, who was also at odds with the Habsburg family, naturally became a natural ally of the art student with the little mustache.
But how did these two get involved with Alexander?
As is well known, Alexander was the son of Paul I, and his demeanor was not as obedient as he presented himself to be in front of Paul I.
On the contrary, Paul I was a man of considerable ambition.
For the art student with the little mustache to collude with him...
After careful consideration, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but tap his fingers on the table: "It's actually normal for the art student with the little mustache to collude with de Gaulle, as they were classmates."
"However, for the art student with the little mustache to collude with Alexander, he must have something to bribe Alexander with. The art student with the little mustache hasn't even figured out Austria yet. What benefits can he promise Alexander?"
When Zhu Jinsong asked this, Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and the other high-ranking officials were also somewhat bewildered.
Indeed, although the art student with the little mustache had openly risen up and even won several battles against the Habsburg family, the Habsburg family had a history of several hundred years and possessed considerable deep foundations. The art student with the little mustache could not possibly deal with the Habsburg family in a short period.
If he could not deal with the Habsburg family, it meant that the art student with the little mustache could not immediately take over all of Austria.
Based on this premise, the benefits that the art student with the little mustache could promise Alexander were extremely limited.
After some thought, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but cautiously say, "Perhaps the art student with the little mustache will use the Habsburg family as a bargaining chip?"