No matter what the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty thought of Zhu Youdong, Xiao Zhu himself felt that he was still very stable: starting from the age of four when he had his own team and was able to do things, in seventeen years, he did a lot of things. But there is one principle that he is basically

Take control: step by step.

The military system of the Ming Dynasty has long been in ruins, but after he got the power to supervise the country, he endured it and did not take action until today. It is really stable enough.

However, society is an organic whole, and the connections between each other are very close. When he carried out military reforms like this, well, the combat effectiveness of the army increased, and the tendency of military households to become servants and even generals to become warlords was completely stopped.

.But it also brings up a problem: In the past, there was a military household system. Military households continued to live and work, and so did the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. But now that the military households are gone, where are the new soldiers after the Ming Dynasty?

This involves the reform of the conscription system.

The guard soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were passed down from father to son, and from son to grandson, from generation to generation. As for the military soldiers, they were recruited at first, but later they gradually became hereditary. And now, of course Zhu Youdong wants to establish a compulsory military service system - Japan

, Siam, etc., firstly, they are too small in size, and secondly, the two time travelers have been farming for too short a time, so it won’t take much to defeat them. The decisive battle with Spain in the future will take the whole country as the battlefield.

How can we do this without fully mobilizing the Ming Dynasty’s manpower?

To establish a compulsory military service system, first of all, the Yellow Book must be clear - he did this. Secondly, a new conscription system must be established: yes, unlike the Western Han Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty never instituted a compulsory military service system and was not responsible for national conscription at all.

of institutions.

This again involves the reform of government agencies.

However, Zhu Youdong is not ready to take this step for the time being: the difficulty and risk of political reform are much greater than other reforms. After the military reform is completely completed, we must first look at the national situation. Only when the situation is stable enough can we initiate political reform.

He has stopped here, but at this moment, in the southeast of Ming Dynasty, on Taiwan Island, countless battleships and soldiers are gradually gathering here.

"I'll wait and see you, General."

"Hahaha, it seems that you haven't fully understood the difference between military ranks and military positions after this military reform." Cao Wenzhao, who was sitting at the top, smiled heartily: "I, like Zhao Sun, have the rank of general.

This is just a military rank. And my military position this time is the commander-in-chief of the newly formed Taiwan Army. During this war, everyone can just call me commander."

"Yes, I will obey your order."

"Okay, I won't say too much. This time, everyone gathered here, of course, under the emperor's order to attack the Spanish-occupied Luzon Island. It is now August 5, the third year of Tianqi. Before that, Timor Island,

Malacca, Java Island, Salian, Macau and other places have been captured, leaving only Luzon. Dear friends, although we have captured so many places, in fact, except for Timor Island, our army has encountered relatively

Except for the tenacious resistance, other places can be regarded as almost invincible. Luzon Island is completely different from the previous places. We must not underestimate the enemy because of the smoothness of the early battles!"

"Follow the commander's instructions."

Starting from April of this year, the Ming Dynasty successively attacked Spanish colonies in Southeast Asia. In other places, they met with resistance on Timor Island: the residents here are mainly Portuguese. However,

The ideas of these guys are too idealistic in this era: We don’t recognize Spain or Portugal. We have developed this land ourselves and just want to live a good life on it. We don’t want to provoke others, but we also don’t bother you.

Come and take care of us.

Now, this idea is a good one. But neither Zhu Youdong nor Phillip would agree with it.

Therefore, this time Xiong Tingbi still sent 3,000 people to carry out the landing operation. They encountered tenacious but not fierce resistance on the island: the opponent's will to fight was extremely determined, and nearly all the Portuguese in total were 2,000 or 3,000 soldiers. However, there was still

Fighting with matchlock guns and the Ming army that had partially replaced breech-loading guns and machine guns would not put much pressure on the Ming army in any case.

In short, the only Spanish colony in the East now is Luzon.

"Now, Chen Xiaotian, a Taiwanese householder of Jinyiwei, will introduce the enemy's situation to everyone."

"Thank you, Commander." After emerging from the crowd, Chen Xiaotian walked to the chart hanging on the wall behind Cao Wenzhao: "Everyone, capturing Luzon Island is, in a sense, capturing the city of Manila. Because Spain is there.

The troops, ships, and even the Spaniards working there were basically gathered around the city. After taking this city, the Western rule on the entire Luzon Island naturally collapsed."

After seeing everyone nodding, Chen Xiaotian raised his baton and clicked on the point where Manila is: "This city is located on the west side of Luzon Island. To the west is Manila Bay, the center of this harbor.

The terrain is somewhat similar to the Bohai Bay in the Ming Dynasty. They are both bays surrounded by land extending from the north and south. Because such a bay is protected by the land, the tidal range of the sea surface is extremely small. After entering the bay, the sea surface is also

It's very peaceful. But the problem this brings is that if our fleet enters the bay and the enemy blocks us outside the harbor, we have no other option but to win through battle.

"

In general, Manila Bay is an excellent bay. An inappropriate analogy is: stretch out your left and right hands, and gradually move the fingers of both hands closer to the center (do not move completely closer). Then, the area circled by both hands is Manila Bay.

And where your heart is, is the city of Manila. The gap left between your hands is the only way in and out of Manila Bay.

"Currently, the information that Jinyiwei has ascertained is that the Spanish have nearly 20,000 troops in Luzon Island, twenty 1,200-ton battleships, and thirty 600-ton second-level battleships. In addition, in Manila City, the Spanish have

Mobilization began in June this year, and an army of about 5,000 people was organized from the local area. In this army, the officers are basically Spaniards, and the soldiers include local indigenous people and, uh, we Han Chinese."

"What?" When the generals heard the news, they couldn't sit still: "Chen Baihu, what's going on?"

"I will answer this matter."

In accordance with the spirit of the new military reform, all the power over how to conduct specific wars was assigned to the Privy Council. Therefore, civil servants could no longer interfere in how to conduct wars. However, Taiwan Island was the rear area of ​​​​this campaign, and its chief administrative officer, Sun Chuanting, had

are eligible to participate in this meeting.

"Everyone, although I am from Shanxi, I have been in the south for many years. Before the expansion of Taiwan Island, our southeastern provinces in China, especially Fujian, were narrow and densely populated, so many coastal people have been leaving for many years.

Survival in Southeast Asia. Among them, because the Spanish occupied Manila, they were more regulated and had more business opportunities than other local indigenous people who were still engaged in slash-and-burn farming. Therefore, many people in the Ming Dynasty went to Manila after going to sea.

Over the years, our Han population in Luzon has been increasing, reaching more than 40,000 at its peak. At that time, if the Spaniards did not have the treasure fleet to pass by, the permanent residents would only be two to three thousand people. Therefore, the Westerners were wary of us.

Gradually.

In the second year of Wanli (1574), the maritime merchant Lin Feng attacked the city of Manila twice, but failed. In the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593), Pan Hewu, a local Han citizen in Luzon, could not bear the humiliation and killed the local governor of the Westerners. After that,

As a Han Chinese living in Manila, the relationship with the local Westerners has become increasingly tense. The Westerners have begun to be wary of the development of the Han Chinese in the local area, and all they need is a name to take action.

In the thirty-first year of Wanli (1603), a crafty man named Zhang Yi falsely reported to the Emperor that there was an organic mountain on Luzon Island that could produce gold and silver. The Emperor then sent his ministers to Luzon Island to investigate. Although it was clear that Zhang Yi

What they said was nonsense, but it gave the Westerners an excuse. At that time, the Westerners spread rumors that the Ming Dynasty would attack Manila, and the Han people living in Manila would become our internal targets. So the Westerners, the local indigenous people

, the Han people rose up to attack us. Although we Han people rose up to resist, the incident happened suddenly, and we had no firearms or organization, so we were defeated miserably. In this battle, of the more than 40,000 Han people living in Manila, less than 300 people survived.

.”

"Bah!" The more aggressive military commander below immediately jumped up and said, "This Spaniard is so brave!"

"Prefect Sun, then the Ming Dynasty didn't send troops to conquer?"

This... Sun Chuanting suddenly regretted why he told this: Wanli knew about this back then and indeed ordered the local officials in Fujian to question the Spaniards, but the Spaniards explained in a low-key manner

Afterwards, Wanli stopped pursuing it: At that time, the Ming Dynasty was already short of money and had to collect mineral taxes everywhere. How could it possibly carry out another labor expedition?

Besides, Sun Chuanting's own thoughts have only gradually changed in recent years. Before, he thought that Han people who abandoned their ancestral graves and went overseas were unfaithful and unfilial people. He thought so, how could you expect Wanli to do so?

Such a miser raises an army for these people?

Therefore, he could only smile awkwardly in response to the questions raised by the generals below.

"Dong dong dong." Cao Wenzhao, who was sitting at the top, knocked on the table: "Don't make any noise, listen to Prefect Sun continue speaking."

The venue fell silent again, and Sun Chuanting nodded to Cao Wenzhao and continued: "Although the Westerners massacred more than 30,000 of our Han people in Manila. But on the one hand, the natives on Luzon Island are lazy and stupid, and the Westerners need me

Han people went there to do business and farm. On the other hand, before China's internal reforms, the Ming Dynasty's coastal areas, except for Yuegang, were still closed to sea. Therefore, the people along the coast, especially those in Fujian, had a very difficult time surviving.

Difficulties. Therefore, after the Luzon Massacre in the 31st year of Wanli, many Han people in Ming Dynasty went to Manila again. Dear friends, I have stayed in Taiwan for so many years, and I know a lot about Fujian, which is across the sea.

The local clans are extremely powerful. When one person goes to sea, after a little stability, he often takes away the whole village and the entire township... Therefore, after nearly twenty years of prosperity, the city of Manila has gathered about two dozen people.

Thousands of Han people. And the Han people in the newly formed Spanish army that Chen Baihu just mentioned came from here."

"Asshole!" Gu Dali, the current Marquis of Anyuan and the new commander of the 11th Division, who had a gold star on each shoulder, cried out: "Why are these people so mean? If they can't survive, they just went to sea to make a living and went to Manila. Why now?"

You actually want to join the Western army to fight against the king's division?"

"Anyuan Hou." Chen Xiaotian spoke again: "According to what we Jinyiwei have learned, currently, the old, weak, women and children among the Han people in Manila have been centralized controlled by the Westerners. All young and strong people, if they do not join the temporary group they formed,
Chapter completed!