March 1632, Beijing.

The spring is cold, and it turns from warm to cold. Generally speaking, there are not many people on the streets of Beijing at this time in the early morning.

However, the ‘Nanyue Authentic’ restaurant near Chaoyangmen is an exception.

Before it was completely bright, many gourmets gathered outside the door of the restaurant. As soon as the time came, the waiter of the restaurant opened the door, and countless diners poured in and quickly took their seats.

old location.

The charm of Cantonese morning tea has cultivated a large number of loyal fans even in Beijing.

"Father, you're up. What do you want to eat this morning?"

"When you are tired of the food in the store, you ask someone to go to Lao Li's house across the street to buy some to burn. In addition, you go to the door and bring in today's newspaper."

"yes."

The owner of the authentic restaurant in South Guangdong is naturally Zhu Yunkeng, who belongs to the Chu family. But the person who calls him father is not Zhu Shengmiao who followed Tiya to America. This man named Zhu Shengpang was an incompetent gambler in his early years.

After being beaten violently by Chen Zizhuang three years ago, he was imprisoned in Fengyang by Zhu Youdong. It was not until Zhu Shengmiao stayed in America that Zhu Yunkeng petitioned many times on the grounds that he was old and had no son to support him, and then Zhu Shengpang was allowed to resign from Fengyang.

Yang Prison returned to Beijing.

After being imprisoned in Fengyang for more than ten years, Zhu Shengpang, who used to be a ruffian, had completely settled down. After he returned to Beijing, he took over the management of the restaurant on behalf of his younger brother, and he actually did an impressive job.

"Father, I got the newspaper back. There is no report about America in today's Yanjing Daily."

"Hmph! Don't mention America. I don't have a son like that. I even gave up my wife and children for a barbarian!"

Hey, I don’t know who the newspaper reported last year was that Captain Gao Yingxiang died in battle and when the imperial court promoted him to lieutenant colonel, who covered his face with the newspaper and secretly shed tears? Hey, when I was in Fengyang, I talked about it every day.

Cursing, in fact, you are the one who urges your brother to come to Fengyang to see me all day long, right?

"Father, Brother Miao is doing big things. He stayed in America for the sake of our family's fame, not just for a woman."

"Shut up, that unfilial son! Don't mention him again."

"Yes." Zhu Shengpang agreed nonchalantly and casually flipped through the newspaper a few more times: "Eh? How brave!"

"What's wrong?"

"Father, this is today's report. At the end of last year, the Kingdom of Kamputir in southern Tibet was invaded by the Mughal Empire of India. Because Kamputir is a vassal of our Ming Dynasty, we asked Li Boyun, the Ming Dynasty's minister in Tibet, for help.

Li Zhijun sent an envoy to question the Mughal Empire, but they actually killed our envoy!"

"How brave!" Amidst the clang, the old man who was originally lying on the chair jumped up. He didn't care about the hot tea flowing all over the floor. Instead, he yelled: "A mere Mughal dares to touch me."

Ming Dynasty’s Tiger Beard? I’m so impatient to live!”

"Yes, father, it seems that the imperial court will send troops to southern Tibet sooner or later, right?"

"That's not true. Ever since I became a prisoner, anyone who offends our Ming Dynasty will be punished no matter how far away we are. Spain is reselling opium to our Ming Dynasty, and all its colonies in Asia have been lost. Even the Americas cannot live in peace.

of!"

He also said that you don't pay attention to America at all, and you don't pay attention to Brother Miao. He laughed secretly, and Zhu Shengpang did not reveal it: "That is, our Ming Dynasty is the kingdom of heaven, and we will never allow our envoys to be killed without punishment. Come to think of it,

My tomorrow's army will soon launch a massive campaign against the Mughals."

"Of course." After saying this, Zhu Yunkeng looked down at the broken tea bowl and suddenly smacked his head: "I remember that the world map showed that although we and the Mughals were bordering each other, they were separated by the middle.

There is a Himalayas, so although it seems that the area bordering the two sides stretches for thousands of miles, there has been no major war for thousands of years. It is because this mountain range is too high and is not conducive to the march of the army at all. This

, isn’t it true that the imperial court sent troops from southern Tibet?”

"Father, my son does not understand military matters. However, how could the emperor and the princes in the court not see such a simple truth? My Ming Dynasty King's Division is invincible on land and invincible on the sea. When the time comes, it is estimated that from the sea

Go?"

"Huh? You're right. Oh, hurry up and get a map of the world. Father, I want to take a good look at it."

"yes."

…

"Hey, the emperor is determined to attack India."

This day was a holiday. Wen Tiren had breakfast at home and after reading the day's newspapers, he let out a long sigh.

"Father, since the Emperor has made up his mind, why do you bother?"

"You don't understand." Looking at his eldest son Wen Yan, who is now working as a scholar in the Department of General Affairs, Wen Tiren said slowly: "You are only twenty-nine years old this year."

"Yes, father."

"So you don't understand." Wen Tiren shook his head and said: "Twenty-eight years ago, when my father was a doctor in the Ministry of Etiquette, he was arranged by Shen Guanyi, the chief assistant at the time, to be a teacher next to Jinshang.

The present etiquette of the grandson. At that time, the Ming Dynasty had fierce party conflicts, the finances could not make ends meet, the armaments were depleted, and the refugees were everywhere. It almost looked like the country was subjugated. However, the emperor who was in power at that time, and the princes who were in power at that time, were nothing more than

It’s just papering.”

"It wasn't until Jinshang came out, especially after Jinshang came out of Nanjing, and made all kinds of amazing moves, that the country's declining crisis was reversed." Taking a deep breath, Wen Tiren said: "Now, the court has

Although there are signs of disagreement between Prime Minister Yuan and your father, it is all healthy competition. As for the income of the imperial court, you have also seen it in the General Affairs Department. There is a surplus every year, and the surplus is several times the annual income of the imperial court during the Wanli period.

The Yellow Book was rebuilt, and there were no more refugees. Arms were reorganized, and the Ming Dynasty was the real suzerain in East Asia... It took my father to follow Jin Shang for nearly thirty years to see such a good situation. I really don't want to be in such a situation.

Mourning at the end of the day!"

"It's not that serious, right? Father? Why don't you just beat the Mughals?"

"What do you know? The Mughals are a big country with a population of nearly 100 million and a vast territory. It is not comparable to Japan, a small country like Siam that can be defeated in two or three battles. If we really want to fight with such a country,

The war will definitely be protracted. But..." He scratched his head in distress: "It's okay to send out a surprise army in southern Tibet, but if we really want a large army to advance, we have to go by sea. And if we want to go by sea, this journey is too far.

Now. Nowadays, our Ming Dynasty’s army has all adopted firearms, which places great demands on logistics. With such long-term, long-distance, large-corps operations, my father is afraid that the revitalization situation that the country has finally achieved will be brought down.

"

"So father turned a deaf ear to the emperor's wishes some time ago?"

"Oh, it's okay to say it turned a deaf ear. It's just putting it off."

"But father, it seems that he can't drag it out anymore."

"Yes." He nodded heavily: "The emperor has already said that the internal treasury will subsidize 10 million yuan per year for the war against India. Although Cao Sanxi has repeatedly strongly opposed it, he was just a small businessman before, and it was the emperor who single-handedly

Promoted. As long as the Emperor persists, Cao Sanxi will pay for it no matter how uncomfortable he is. And for propaganda, haha." He patted the newspaper and said: "Zhang Shize, the current British Duke, came from a distinguished family, and the Emperor has been studying with him since he was a child. This attitude is also true.

It’s clear.”

"Father, and the military."

"You are right, there is also the military." The gray beard trembled: "The snowy area is thousands of miles away from Beijing, and the roads there are rugged and difficult to travel. However, the emperor had the idea of ​​attacking India in December last year.

In the month before, Li Jia and Man Gui concocted the murder of the envoy. Hey, it was ridiculous that at that time we even laughed at the emperor in private for saying that the reason for starting a war was to destroy Hinduism and liberate the local people. It turned out that the emperor had known that we would object, so he had

We have found the real reason for the war. Ah, that's right, Li Jia is from Fangshan, and Man Gui is the emperor's loyal dog. How could they not act carefully after receiving the emperor's hint? "

"Father, my son also saw many generals writing memorials to impeach the Prime Minister in the General Affairs Department. The leader, Cao Wenzhao, actually accused the Prime Minister in the memorial of forgetting his duty as a warrior."

"That's right, war is the fastest way for generals to get promoted and make a fortune. But Ma Chengzhao was only willing to mobilize an army of 100,000 troops, so he was naturally impeached by the generals. Haha, the prime minister is also following today's numbers just like his father.

In the past ten years, he has watched the country get out of crisis and recover little by little, and he does not want the emperor to make a big move against India. But now, the generals who are actually leading the army have come forward to express their attitude. I think, the Prime Minister wrote a letter to ask

The resignation just happened in the past two days."

"Ah? What about you, father?"

"Hey, I have followed Jin Shang for nearly thirty years. At the beginning, I thought that relying on my grandson, I would be satisfied with being an emperor's master and becoming a minister in the future. But after thirty years, I have done so much with Jin Shang.

What a big deal, my father also wants to leave his name in history and become a famous prime minister! But..." He shook his head with a wry smile: "Today, it is time for my father to become an official. Also, my father's talents are only suitable for being a peaceful person.

Prime Minister, if you really want to be in charge of the civil affairs of a country while the country is in a state of war for a long time, you are still beyond your capabilities as a father."

…

In March 1632, Li Jia, the minister in charge of Tibet, reported that the Mughal Empire had killed the Ming envoy. Suddenly, public sentiment surged, demanding that troops be sent to punish the Mughals, which completely suppressed the small-scale rebellion led by the cabinet in the previous month or two.

The sound of large-scale mobilization of troops.

In April, the personnel of the imperial court changed. Prime Minister Wen Tiren was appointed, and the third prime minister Li Dai became official. The second prime minister Yuan Keli took over as prime minister and temporarily became the independent prime minister.

At the same time, the chief and deputy envoys of the Privy Council, Ma Chengzhao and Yu Zigao, successively retired from office on the grounds of old age and infirmity. The president of the Supreme Court, Xiong Tingbi, transferred from civilian to military service and was directly awarded the rank of general and took over as envoy to the Privy Council.

In May, the imperial court began to mobilize troops: the General Administration of Military Service recruited 100,000 strong soldiers to join the army, mixed with the original small number of veterans, and formed six new divisions to serve in the country. Most of them were veterans, and a small number of new recruits were supplemented by 20 divisions.

, fifteen of them received mobilization orders.

At the same time, the Marine Corps and the East China Sea and South China Sea Fleets of the three major fleets also began to mobilize.

The imperial court also issued a document to Fugu, Gui, Japan, Tang, and Zhou, requiring these five vassal states to provide at least one division of troops to the Ming Dynasty within this year to participate in the war against India. Others include Annan, Khmer, Shu, Chu, and Qin

, Jin and others must provide at least one battalion of troops, and ultimately rely on these nearly twenty vassal states to form six divisions. In other words, the more than 30 vassal states in the entire Ming Dynasty must provide the suzerain state with

The strength of ten divisions.

Zhu Youdong really attaches great importance to Aurangzeb. If he doesn't move, he will throw out 25 army divisions and one Marine Corps division in terms of the army. The total strength reaches 390,000.
Chapter completed!