Chapter 777: The Pride of the People of Ming Dynasty
The people of the Ming Dynasty today are very arrogant, and basically adopt a discriminatory attitude towards all barbarians from other countries.
Although the Japanese are similar in appearance to the Han people, they are not the red-haired and green-eyed Westerners who look like imps.
But due to his height disadvantage, it is difficult for others to look down upon him.
In order to gain the respect of the people of the Ming Dynasty, this Japanese behaved very generously.
The newspaper only cost five copper coins, but he directly gave me a silver dollar and said there was no need to look for it!
It seems to be saying, look, I am rich, richer than you common people in the Ming Dynasty, you should not look down on me!
However, facing the generosity of this Japanese customer, the newsboy spoke with reason.
"Sir, a newspaper only costs five copper coins!"
"I can't take the extra money!"
Then, the newsboy became very serious and found money for the Japanese in front of him.
If you use a silver dollar to buy a newspaper and say that you don't have to look for it anymore, it is the people of the Ming Dynasty. The newsboy will just say thank you, sir, and then leave with a lot of gratitude.
But if the person doing this is a foreigner, it’s different!
He won't want the extra money!
Just like in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, if beggars in Chang'an City received alms from barbarians, not only would they not accept it, they would think that the other party was humiliating themselves and get angry.
The people of Ming Dynasty now have similar thoughts!
No matter how destitute I am, I am still a poor man from the Ming Dynasty. I have a household registration from the Ming Dynasty. I am superior to you foreigners. We will never accept charity from you barbarians!
When the Japanese who came to buy the newspaper saw this, they no longer pressed for it. They took the newspaper and the change in their hands and ran back to Yoshida Takayoshi.
"Sir, I bought the newspaper!"
As he spoke, the Japanese handed the newspaper to Yoshida Takayoshi with both hands.
Yoshida Takayoshi nodded slightly, took the newspaper, and then started reading.
As he continued to read the newspaper, the expression on his face became more and more gloomy.
The news published in this newspaper is really shocking!
"Sir, is the information in this newspaper true?"
As if grasping the last straw, Yoshida Takayoshi looked at the Ming Dynasty official aside and asked with earnestness in his voice.
The Ming officials on the side heard this and said with a very serious face.
"of course it's true!"
"This is Daming Daily, the propaganda mouthpiece of the imperial court. The content here has been reviewed by the imperial propaganda department before being published. It can be guaranteed to be absolutely correct."
Hearing this, the expression on Yoshida Takayoshi's face kept changing.
The Qing invaders would attack Japan, which he and even the shogunate could never have imagined.
Now, looking at these battle reports published in the "Daming Daily", Yoshida Takayoshi feels a chill in his back.
Finally, as if he had made up his mind, Yoshida Takayoshi asked the Ming Dynasty official next to him.
"My lord, I wonder when I can see the Emperor of Heaven?"
He wanted to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty and asked the Ming Dynasty to send troops to join forces with the Ming Dynasty to exterminate the Qing invaders who invaded Japan.
But the premise of all this is that he can see the Emperor of Tomorrow!
Otherwise, everything is empty!
The Ming Dynasty official who was in charge of the reception just shook his head and said.
"I don't even know!"
"The messenger just waits patiently for the notification!"
Hearing this, Yoshida Takayoshi sighed heavily.
My heart is full of helplessness!
But no matter how anxious he was to get angry, he could not affect the evolution of the current war situation in Japan due to the separation of mountains and seas.
All Yoshida Takayoshi can do now is to wait for the Ming Emperor to receive him and complete the mission entrusted to him by the General.
If possible, ask Ming for help again...
…
Three years after the Ming Dynasty was restored, April 20th!
Plateau, outside Qamdo City!
A large group of dark plateau cavalry gathered in Changdu under the call of tribal nobles and monks.
Nearly 20,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry gathered together, and the momentum was very huge!
With 20,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry, it was a big burden for the Central Plains dynasty to gather so many troops in one breath, let alone the bitter cold plateau.
20,000 cavalry means 20,000 soldiers alone. If the horses are calculated as one person and two horses, that is 40,000 horses.
In addition, there are 50,000 infantry, as well as the accompanying soldiers and civilians needed by the army, and the pack horses needed to escort the army's food and grass, etc. The number is simply countless.
In order to assemble this 70,000-strong army and ensure that the 70,000-strong army has no problem eating horses and chewing horses, these tribes near the border of the Ming Dynasty are about to empty out their own wealth.
Of course, these 70,000 troops are not elites!
To put it simply, cavalry are herdsmen who can ride horses and shoot arrows, and infantry are serfs who have been issued weapons.
It sounds like a lot, but the combat effectiveness is a question.
However, there is nothing we can do about it!
The Ming army marched into the plateau in a mighty manner, destroying cities and villages wherever they went. In just ten months, they successively broke through dozens of tribal camps.
A large number of nobles were killed, and the serfs were kidnapped by the Ming army.
Some were sent to the Han region for resettlement, while others fought with the Ming army.
The entire border area near the Han Dynasty was basically turned upside down by the Ming army.
In order to protect themselves, the remaining nobles could only gather troops in Qamdo City to prepare for a decisive battle with the invading Ming army.
In their haste, these so-called nobles were unable to assemble any elite troops.
They can only prepare to take advantage of the fact that the Ming army has limited strength on the plateau and prepare to win with quantity.
A total of 70,000 troops were assembled in Qamdo and immediately set off eastward.
A large number of sentries were scattered around, covering the battlefield while trying to find the location of the Ming army and seeking a decisive battle with the Ming army.
…
At the same time, on the endless plateau, the Ming army was marching!
Groups of Ming army elite cavalry scattered on the grassland are gathering towards the camp on the bank of Gyatso Lake.
It is no secret that the nobles on the plateau gathered a large number of troops in Qamdo.
Just when the nobles were preparing to gather their troops, the Ming army also received the news.
Then, the Ming army also began to gather troops, preparing for a decisive battle with the 40,000 cavalry that the plateau nobles had finally gathered together.
"How is it? How many troops do we have in the camp now?"
"Which soldiers and horses are there that have not entered the camp?"
Li Guangyuan stood in front of a map, looking at the distribution of the enemy's and our forces on the map without blinking, squinting, and casually asked his adjutant.
The adjutant stood up and clasped his fists.
"General, there are now 7,000 elite cavalry in our camp, and more than 20,000 servants accompanying us in battle."
"There are probably four or five elite knights from the camp who have not yet returned to camp!"
The so-called elite cavalry refers to the Ming army's own elite soldiers who are well-equipped and well-trained.
Among them are Han people, Tibetans, and many Qiang people and Mongolians. The ethnic composition is a bit complicated, but the combat effectiveness is unparalleled, and it is definitely strong enough!
Moreover, since the Han people accounted for the majority in the army, and the Ming Dynasty controlled the family records of these people, despite the complex ethnic composition of these elite cavalry, their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty could be guaranteed.
The so-called servant army was actually the serfs rescued by the Ming army.
After these serfs were rescued by the Ming army, many of them spontaneously organized themselves to fight with the Ming army and rescue more enslaved compatriots.
The combat effectiveness of these servant armies is relatively poor, but they are quite brave in combat!
Sometimes, they charge even more fiercely than the fine cavalry of the Ming army!
Of course, the reason why this happened was not because the Ming army's elite cavalry were afraid of fighting, but because the servant troops were disorderly.
The Ming army's elite cavalry battles also had to consider tactics and other factors. Those servant armies just charged and it was over, and they didn't care about anything else.
Hearing this, Li Guangyuan nodded and said.
"very good!"
"The troops are almost here, so the decisive battle will almost begin!"
The adjutant heard this and asked.
"General, according to the investigation of the Sentinel Cavalry, there are approximately 70,000 enemies invading this time!"
“It’s still a mixture of walking and riding!”
"There are only seven thousand combat-worthy men in our army. Even if all the remaining four or five battalion heads return to camp in time, they will only be over eight thousand."
"There is a huge disparity in military strength, with a gap of nearly ten times. I am afraid this battle will not be easy to fight!"
"I wonder if we should ask for help from Han Dynasty?"
Obviously, Li Guangyuan's adjutant did not take the combat effectiveness of those servants seriously.
In his opinion, those servant armies can only play a flag-waving role at most.
Or after the Ming army defeated the enemy, they could help pursue it.
If we really expect those servant armies to fight the main force, something will definitely happen.
Li Guangyuan shook his head and said.
"No, the enemy does have 70,000 people, but those 70,000 are not soldiers, but 20,000 herdsmen and 50,000 serfs."
"It's just a mob, how can it have any fighting power?"
"If we face such a ragtag enemy and have to ask for help from the imperial court, I can't afford to lose this person!"
As if he suddenly remembered something, Li Guangyuan asked.
"By the way, how about the new batch of weapons shipped by the imperial court from Nanjing? Have they been installed for the brothers?"
The adjutant said.
"General, the imperial court has sent a total of 300 shotguns, 300 revolvers, and 300 short-barreled lances. They have all been sent according to the number of military exploits they have made during this period. Following the soldiers with outstanding military exploits, please
Sent down."
"But this is the first time these new weapons have been used on the battlefield. I'm afraid the effect is hard to say. We are changing the equipment for our brothers now. Is it a little hasty?"
It's not that the adjutant doesn't dare to accept new things, it's just that in military matters, taking risks is really unavoidable.
When Li Guangyuan heard this, he shook his head and said.
"Follow the instructions. Since the court has told us, let us verify the effectiveness of the new weapons and new tactics through actual combat, it means that the problem is not big!"
"The imperial court must have conducted experiments!"
"The experimental results over there are definitely not bad, otherwise we wouldn't be allowed to go to the battlefield to test new weapons."
"Furthermore, the military orders of the imperial court cannot be ignored. There is no room for bargaining. Just follow the orders!"
What the adjutant said is correct from a military perspective.
But politically speaking, that is dead wrong.
With the orders issued by the imperial court, there is no room for bargaining by the subordinates?
Just follow the orders given by the court honestly!
What's more, Li Guangyuan is now the uncle of the Ming Dynasty, and his nephew is the prince of the Ming Dynasty, so his identity is even more sensitive.
Facing the imperial court's military orders, Li Guangyuan will definitely implement them strictly without any discount!
…
The decisive battle on the plateau is about to begin!
At this time, the city of Nanjing was still a prosperous scene.
Today's Nanjing City, with the continuous economic development after the restoration of the Ming Dynasty and the unprecedented prosperity of industry and commerce, Nanjing City has become somewhat urbanized.
The elite talents and capital wealth of the entire Ming Dynasty converged towards Nanjing under the siphon effect of big cities!
It is not an exaggeration to say that Nanjing is attracting attention from all over the world.
As we all know, in this era, due to the Ming Dynasty’s monopoly on commodities in East-West trade, nearly half of the world’s annual gold and silver production flowed into the Ming Dynasty.
And the wealth of the entire Ming Dynasty is converging towards Nanjing. Rounding it off, isn’t it Nanjing that is siphoning off the whole world?
So, we can see how prosperous Nanjing is now!
A large number of people gathered, causing Nanjing's population capacity to reach its upper limit.
Promoting the soaring housing prices in Nanjing City, Zhu Hongyu has begun to prepare for the expansion of Nanjing City and engage in the most evil real estate business.
In the eyes of the people at the bottom, real estate is the source of all evil, and houses are priced at cabbage prices.
But if you look at it from another angle, this thing is really a perfect tool for harvesting wealth.
After all, where can you get money quickly from selling land if you are serious about collecting taxes?
"Your Majesty, the population capacity of Nanjing City has reached its limit. Many people have even begun to sleep on the streets and are homeless."
"Maybe it's time for the imperial court to expand the city of Nanjing!"
Huo Rongfang, Minister of Construction of the Ming Dynasty, came to Zhu Hongyu and reported to Zhu Hongyu.
Zhu Hongyu turned over the Nanjing City Expansion Plan Report submitted by the Ministry of Construction. After pondering for a while, Zhu Hongyu asked.
"The expansion of Nanjing City is imminent, but the biggest obstacle to expansion is the city wall of Nanjing City."
The Nanjing City Wall has a radius of more than 100 miles and is surrounded by mountains and mountains. It surrounds the entire city of Nanjing.
While providing Nanjing with strong urban defense, it also greatly restricted Nanjing's urban development.
Now that Nanjing City is expanding, the first problem it must face is the city wall of Nanjing City.
The Ministry of Construction can’t make up its mind whether the city wall should be demolished or not!
Don't demolish it, the city wall is really in the way!
Let's demolish it. Nanjing is the capital of the Ming Dynasty and the residence of the emperor. If there is no city wall, if something happens, who can afford this responsibility?
Therefore, in the plan submitted to the emperor, the Ministry of Construction wisely did not mention what to do with the Nanjing City Wall.
I just want the emperor to come up with this idea himself!
When Huo Rongfang heard Zhu Hongyu's words, he immediately sat upright and waited for the emperor's follow-up.
Zhu Hongyu pondered for a while and then said.
"Since Nanjing's city wall has become the biggest obstacle to the development of Nanjing, let's demolish it!"
After hearing this, Huo Rongfang asked.
"Your Majesty, after the expansion of Nanjing City is completed, I wonder if the Nanjing City Wall should be rebuilt?"