"My son and I pay homage to my father. I haven't seen him for five years. My father is in good health. I am very happy."

"Well, let's get up and come closer to let my father take a look. Well, the height hasn't changed much, but the body is obviously stronger."

Zhu Youdong was very satisfied with his eldest son: he came back with Zhu Ciyi, and there was also a report from Cao Bianjiao. In the report, Cao Bianjiao frankly stated that His Royal Highness, the eldest son, had done an excellent job in the Americas in the past five years, and the local Indians were all Like him very much.

This Cao Bianjiao served as the chief of the bodyguard of the emperor's second son Zhu Ciyan in his early years. Naturally, he would not speak for Zhu Ciyi. Even so, in this report, he still believed that the work of the emperor's eldest son was very effective, so it must be It can't be fake anymore.

"I heard that you mingled with the local Indians in America. In five years, you mastered the languages ​​of three tribes, and even hunted a puma yourself?"

"Well, Father, many of the rumors are untrue. The puma fell into our trap and was shot by my subordinates. In fact, it was just a fixed target. It was nothing serious."

"That's good." He patted his eldest son's shoulder and felt the strong muscles there. Zhu Youdong was even more satisfied: "Next, you go meet your mother and grandmother, and then prepare for the wedding. Miss Sun's family I have been waiting for you for five years and you are almost nineteen, so you can be considered an old girl."

"Uh, father, there is something I need to report to my father first."

"speak."

"Father, my son has been in America for five years, which is when he was young and strong. So, this..."

"Oh, how many Indian girls have you slept with? Do you have any children?"

"Father." Twenty-two-year-old Zhu Ciyi's face turned red: "My son adopted an Indian woman and an Indo-European mixed-race woman in America. With these two women, we have two daughters."

"Oops? Now that I say it, I'm going to be a grandfather?" After all, the soul of the time traveler is still a modern person, and after all, Zhu Youdong's body is only forty years old at this moment. When he heard that he had been upgraded and became a grandfather, he was also very Not used to it.

But he quickly reacted: "You came back this time and brought them all back, right?"

"We brought them all back. At first, I wanted to keep them in America. But Mr. Sun asked me to bring them back."

"Bo Ya did the right thing? Men? It doesn't matter if you have concubines first and then wives. But if you give up after all, then it's your fault. Okay? Go and bring them all to me? I want to see my two little granddaughters."

"yes."

It has to be said that mixed-race children have a natural advantage in appearance? When he saw his two granddaughters who were as cute as dolls, Zhu Youdong's heart melted. And then the emperor, who had many affairs all day long? He just squeezed out half an hour to accompany him. I played with my two granddaughters for a long time.

"Huh, that's it. You go see your mother and grandmother as soon as possible. They will be solely responsible for your wedding. Before that? You have to go see Miss Sun first. Although you are a grown man in America. In 2010, it is normal to have two chosen attendants. However, no woman likes to be the mother of two children before she even enters the house. In short, be more considerate. In order for Boya to serve the court, your relationship with Miss Sun It can’t be bad.”

"Yes? Father, don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter well. But father? The American Rebels have accumulated a lot of experience, and it's time to get results. After the wedding? Isn't that right?"

"You want to go back to America? I am not ready to let you go back for the time being. I will arrange a new job for you after your wedding."

"Yes? I just dare to ask my father, what errands are you going to give me? It's better for me to prepare in advance."

"The political commissar system in America is implemented very well? I am going to promote it in all the armies of the Ming Dynasty. I am going to build a new military and political college in Beijing to train political commissars. You first become the dean of this college. Now,

The situation of Ming Dynasty in East Asia is somewhat bad, and the control of the army must be further strengthened."

"My son, I understand. But father, my Ming Dynasty is in East Asia now. Is the trouble really big?"

Zhu Youdong did not answer directly to Zhu Ciyi's question. But he was very anxious and silently answered: Yes, it is really big.

It was January 1641, and a full 14 months had passed since the Battle of Malacca, in which the Ming Dynasty's home fleet was nearly wiped out.

In May 1640, with a new batch of reinforcements shipped from the European Union, the army under his command was restored to 500,000. The European Expeditionary Corps, led by Gustav Wallenstein, landed in Rangoon.

Although the navy was unable to participate in the war, the army voluntarily abandoned Yangon, and even the King of Shu who had seceded the country here was forced to abandon the country and leave. However, after the EU army penetrated about fifty kilometers into Myanmar, they were attacked by Liu Zhaosun

The tenacious resistance of the fifteen great Ming divisions led by the Ming Dynasty. From May 1640 to the present, the EU's army has made very slow progress.

However, although the EU's army has not achieved much results, the situation of its navy is completely different.

Since the Ming Dynasty's home fleet only had a few 3,000-ton light cruisers and the twenty lightning destroyers that had just been commissioned, it was unable to engage in a decisive battle with the Spanish fleet, which still had one 10,000-ton battleship and three 5,000-ton heavy cruisers.

Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty still retained Singapore, the entire South China Sea was indeed opened.

Since June 1640, the busy Nanyang trade routes between the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states have been continuously hit. The worst one was the Ming Dynasty's shipment from Luzon Island, which was fully loaded with 3,000 tons of silver and tens of thousands of tons of copper ore.

The precious metal transport fleet was hit by the Spanish fleet. In order not to compete with the enemy, the fleet chose to sink all of them! The angry Spaniards shot all the crew members who scuttled the ships!

By now, January 1641, the entire Nanyang trade route has been almost completely interrupted.

The South China Sea is like this, and the North China Sea is not much better. Coastal cities in Japan, Fuguo, Guiguo, and Ming Dynasty's own Hainan, Taiwan, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, etc. have all been harassed or harassed at least once

shelling.

In November 1640, the Spaniards concentrated one battleship, three heavy cruisers and 15 destroyers and launched an attack on the Changsha Shipyard located at the estuary of the Yangtze River. At this time, Inukai Touji was forced to lead the Ming Dynasty's home fleet to return the attack.

The ships that could move fought a decisive battle with them. The Ming fleet used torpedoes for the first time in this battle.

But it is a pity that torpedoes powered solely by compressed air are too slow. 20 torpedoes fired a total of 160 torpedoes, and only 3 were hit - and one of them did not explode!

Although the remaining two torpedoes sank one of the opponent's heavy cruisers, only twelve of the twenty torpedo ships under Inukai Touji's command rushed to a distance of less than a kilometer from the opponent and successfully launched torpedoes, and escaped unharmed.

, only six ships!

Although in the end the Changsha Shipyard was saved thanks to the desperate battles of fortress artillery, mine formations and the navy. However, the vitality that the Ming Navy had just gathered seemed to be scattered again.

Moreover, at this time, the Ming Dynasty was very economically dependent on overseas markets. When export sales almost stagnated, a large number of products produced due to the entry into the steam age could not find sales, and the domestic economy would sooner or later be in trouble.

What is even more irritating is that the Spanish fleet harassed shipping routes everywhere, bombarded the coastal ports of the Ming Dynasty and its vassal states, and distributed leaflets everywhere. The content of which is probably: Originally, Spain and the European Union were very peace-loving. In the early years, Spain was in the Philippines, Macau

, Sha Lian and other places have established colonies, and they can all get along well with you. But after your current emperor came to power, for his own ambitions, he ignored our plea for peace and sent troops to attack us without any reason. So, we are coming back this time.

, we are not trying to embarrass the vast number of East Asian people, we just want to teach your arrogant emperor an unforgettable lesson. Therefore, hard-working and kind-hearted East Asian people, as long as you abandon that evil emperor and issue a public statement,

Say that you are no longer subordinate to that heinous tyrant. Then we, Spain, and we, the European Union, will no longer bombard your ports or capture your merchant ships. At the same time, we are also willing to provide you with certain arms assistance to help you resist.

That fool!

Such leaflets were despised by local rulers in countries such as Fukuo, Gui, Tang, Zhou and even Japan. The monarchs of these vassal states issued a series of orders to seize leaflets and arrest people for spreading leaflets.

Spaniards or locals. However, there are also some countries that have been shaken by frequent harassment and shelling, as well as the offensive of these leaflets.

March 1641, Annan Kingdom, Thanh Hoa Province, Annam Palace.

"Your Majesty, don't hesitate any longer. The conditions of the Spaniards are very favorable. As long as your Majesty issues a statement declaring that they will break away from the vassal system of the Ming Dynasty, they will not only stop killing our fishermen and merchants immediately, but they will also give us enough weapons.

Arms for ten divisions."

"Your Majesty, in the past three months, Hue, Thuan Binh, Huai Nhon... all the major coastal prefectures and counties in Vietnam have been destroyed by artillery fire. Fishermen cannot go to the sea to fish, and their livelihoods are not secure. Merchants cannot go to the sea, and a lot of goods are rotten in the sea.

The farmers cannot sell the rice they grow, and they have no money to pay taxes... If this goes on for a little longer, these people will rebel!"

"Your Majesty, the country is in such difficulty, but what did the Ming Dynasty do? When our ports and coastal counties were bombarded, where was their navy? There was no trace at all!"

"Your Majesty, it's just that the navy of the Ming Dynasty can't be seen. Their army is passing through our country continuously through the Central-South Railway. Along the way, they ask us to provide food. Folks, this pressure is better than the day.

.However, our tax revenue is decreasing day by day because of the Spanish blockade. If things continue like this, the country will no longer be a country!"

"Your Majesty, please make a decision quickly!"

The king of Annam at this time was called Le Duy Tan. Before last year, he was a puppet: Annam was a unified country in name, but in fact it was the two powerful ministers of the North, Zheng, and South Ruan who were in opposition.

Last year, due to various conflicts between the two powerful ministers in the north and the south against the Central-South Railway of the Ming Dynasty, the Central-South Railway was delayed in opening to traffic. In anger, Zhu Youdong moved all the heads of the Zheng family and the Ruan family and their main relatives to Beijing under house arrest. This happened

Li Weixin finally came to the forefront and took real power.

However, the Li family's royal family has been in power for too long. For decades, this country has been controlled by people named Zheng and Ruan. Although Zhu Youdong emptied the upper echelons of the Zheng and Ruan families, in fact, in the middle and lower classes, they are still

There are a large number of Zheng and Ruan remnants.

When Ming Dynasty had an absolute advantage, these middle and lower-level officials did not dare to say anything. But now, when Ming Dynasty is clearly at a disadvantage, some people's thoughts began to come alive.

Faced with the pressure of the ministers to force him into the palace, Li Weixin also found it difficult to resist: If he made a strong statement and said that we must be the loyal dog of the Ming Dynasty, then, no way, he would fall into the water and die tomorrow.

Therefore, at this moment, he could only ask: "My lords, if Dai Viet is the first to raise the flag and betray Ming Dynasty, there is no doubt that Dai Viet will be struck by Ming's thunder. At that time, Dai Viet will be able to hold on
Chapter completed!