After arriving at Jeju Island, the army could no longer continue and could only stop and rest.
The seemingly mighty army of 500,000 people is actually self-aware that 80% of them are landlubbers.
They can't even swim, and most of them have a phobia of the deep sea, which makes them especially uncomfortable in water battles.
The remaining 20% were all former navy masters of the Ming Dynasty, so they were naturally very familiar with them.
"General, let's think of a way, otherwise we will easily suffer too much damage when we conquer Kyushu Island."
In the inner city of Jeju Island, Zhu Di said in a deep voice.
Zhu Fan did not jump out to oppose this suggestion this time, because the soldiers under his command were even worse.
Apart from the Ming Dynasty Navy, the only exception was the five thousand fire gun soldiers led by Xuan Jiawei.
Zhu Shu was a little unhappy: "I heard that the Japanese country is covered with islands. Even if we land on it, water battles are inevitable."
In Zhu Shu's imagination, he should be leading the cavalry to sweep across the Japanese country. However, after traveling from Shanghai to Jeju Island, Zhu Shu knew that this expedition to conquer the Japanese would be much more troublesome than he imagined.
Feng Sheng pondered for a while and then said:
"We cannot stay here on Jeju Island for long. The more than 200,000 people on the island cannot feed our army at all."
"The current food supply is only enough for three months. We must capture enough territory on the Japanese Kyushu Island within this period of time to ensure food for the soldiers."
"In this way, let's first send the navy to Goryeo. Now Goryeo's national preceptor Daoyan is also devouring troops to attack the Japanese. We will discuss a day and attack together to exhaust the Japanese army in Kyushu Island."
"During the waiting period, the soldiers should practice their basic water skills, at least so that they no longer get seasick."
"The common people living on Jeju Island are all proficient in water skills, so it is up to them to teach our soldiers."
"Also, I have been entrusted by Your Majesty, Your Highness Taisun, to serve as the general for this war against Japan. I have no other requirements. I only hope that Your Highnesses can obey military orders and not insult the people of Jeju Island."
"Jeju Island is our rear area. If anything goes wrong, it will be a huge problem."
Feng Sheng said very solemnly.
He was really worried about the three vassal princes in front of him, no, or should I say princes.
His Majesty asked him to be the general. To put it bluntly, he was used to take the blame.
If he wins the battle and the three princes of Japan establish a feudal vassal, he will be able to escape unscathed.
If he loses, most of the responsibility will fall on his head, and the days ahead will be difficult.
To be honest, none of the three princes are easy to get along with.
I just entered Jeju Island yesterday, and last night my subordinates reported the news that the prince's troops were killing innocent people indiscriminately and even looting.
As for which prince it was, Feng Sheng prevented his subordinates from conducting in-depth investigations. It would not be good for anyone if the matter was revealed.
In fact, you don’t need to guess to know that there is a high probability that it is King Zhu Su of Qi.
King Zhu Di of Yan had a high self-esteem and strict military discipline, and would not have caused such a thing the day before.
Although King Zhu Fan of the Jin Dynasty also had a violent personality and did not take the people seriously, he would not take the initiative to rob the people after his experience with his grandson.
Only King Zhu Shu of Qi had a surly and arrogant personality, and took pride in his military strategy. After leaving the territory of the Ming Dynasty, he felt unscrupulous.
It was only the two brothers Zhu Di and Zhu Fan who pressed on from the front that they restrained themselves.
Feng Sheng was originally the Duke of the country. Since the founding of the country by Hongwu, he had made great military achievements and had the most victories.
Zhu Di, Zhu Fan, and Zhu Shu all pursue military merit. When facing Feng Sheng, even the three princes must take it seriously.
Especially when talking about relations within Jeju Island, Feng Sheng kept his eyes fixed on Zhu Su, which made Zhu Su understand in his heart that what his subordinates did last night was already known.
After the meeting ended, Feng Sheng didn't frown.
Because he knew that among the three people, the only one who had made great achievements in domestic affairs was King Zhu Di of Yan.
But he doesn't want to use it.
Once Jeju's internal affairs are handed over to King Yeon, he will definitely not be angry.
You don't need to think about it to know that Jin Wang Zhu Fan will definitely not take the overall situation into consideration, and will directly and secretly act against him.
"Let the magistrate of Jeju come and see me."
After Feng Sheng pondered for a while, he gave instructions to his adjutant.
As a general, he naturally does not have much energy to take care of internal affairs. If the three princes can't do it, they will have to turn to local officials in the end.
Jeju Island belongs to the counties of Goryeo, and the local governor here is naturally the county magistrate.
Not long after the adjutant left, he brought the magistrate here.
As soon as the county magistrate saw Feng Sheng, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "An Qiming, the magistrate of Jeju, Goryeo, pays homage to the great general of the Shangguo."
An Qiming is in his fifties and looks relatively healthy, but he is always in fear.
"Don't worry, this general represents the Ming Dynasty and will not do anything to the people of Jeju Island. But now you also know that Jeju Island is in an extremely critical position, so this general came to talk to you specially."
Feng Sheng said kindly, his tone was calm and reassuring.
An Qiming was lying on the ground and did not dare to get up: "Please give me your instructions, General."
Feng Sheng frowned: "Get up and talk."
Only then did An Qiming dare to stand up, and nodded slightly, not daring to look directly, to show respect.
"General, I heard that there was some strange movement last night. It seems that the sergeant disturbed the people. Magistrate An will tell you in detail what happened."
An Qiming quickly bowed and said: "It is the common people who have offended the majesty of the heavenly army. I have been severely reprimanded by my subordinates."
Feng Shengyang said angrily: "You, the magistrate of An County, dare to deceive me and tell me what the situation is."
Seeing the general's anger, An Qiming was so frightened that his knees weakened and he knelt down again:
"General, I am wronged. The horse on the island was discovered by the Tomorrow Army. There may have been some misunderstandings during the filial piety process, which led to the conflict."
"Your Majesty has already punished the herdsmen. Please take a closer look, General."
pasture?
This is Feng Sheng's first time to Jeju Island. In fact, even in Daming, he didn't pay much attention to Jeju Island.
When he heard the word ranch, Feng Sheng immediately became interested.
"Tell me more about the ranch." Feng Sheng asked.
An Qiming knew that now that the ranch had been discovered, there was no possibility of concealment, so he could only tell the story in detail.
It turns out that there is a large area of natural pasture in the eastern part of Jeju Island, where thousands of horses are raised. Due to the high quality of the pasture, a large number of tall horses are raised. With a little training, they can be used as war horses.
The army landed on Jeju Island from the northwest. Naturally, they didn't know that there was still a piece of natural pasture in the east.
This pasture is surrounded by mountains and is not close to the sea. Even if a ship passes by the eastern beach, it cannot be discovered.
Logically speaking, Feng Sheng's army was strict and it was impossible for any sergeant to run from the west to the east.
However, the pro-army troops on Zhu Su's side were as arrogant as the King of Qi.
I was thinking in my mind that if the army is stationed in the west, it doesn't matter in the east.
So after discussing it privately, dozens of riders headed east.
Naturally, the pastures to the east and the horses were discovered.
Dozens of knights are all powerful and covered in armor. Not to mention the herdsmen in Jeju Island, even the officers and soldiers have no chance of resisting.
Afraid of being exposed, he raised his butcher's knife.
It was just a dark night and the wind was high, so naturally some herdsmen took shelter and reported it to the Jeju government.
Feng Sheng did not expect that in a remote and remote area like Jeju Island, there would be a natural pasture and thousands of horses.
At this moment, Feng Sheng suddenly remembered what His Highness Taisun said.
'Every place in the world has its use, but its value has not been discovered yet.'
The Ming Dynasty was short of horses, especially war horses.
Every pasture is a very important strategic resource for Ming Dynasty.
Feng Sheng did not ask about what happened last night, but instead asked, "Is An Zhixian a Korean or has he been living in Jeju Island?"
An Qiming did not hesitate: "Replying to the general, I was born on Jeju Island, and then studied in Kyoto, Korea for several years, and then I was appointed back to Jeju Island as magistrate."
Feng Sheng nodded with satisfaction, and then asked An Qiming carefully about raising horses on the ranch.
When the questions were almost finished, he was asked to step back.
Taking out his pen and ink, Feng Sheng immediately wrote down the situation of the ranch here on paper.
According to the careful inquiry just now, Feng Sheng has estimated that the size of the pasture is over one million acres.
What is the concept of a million acres of pasture?
At present, Guanshan Ranch, the most important horse breeding area in the Ming Dynasty, is one million acres in size, and provides almost 80% of the war horse output for the Ming Dynasty.
Now the ranch here on Jeju Island has only greater possibilities than the Guansan Ranch.
So now the strategic significance of Jeju Island is very important.
Such an occupation is simply the second horse breeding land in the Ming Dynasty.
As long as the people with complete horse breeding technology and horse training personnel are brought over, the Ming Dynasty's war horse production can be doubled.
The biggest reason why Meng Yuanwei was so strong in the early days was that they had enough war horses.
Even though firearms are now available, the importance of cavalry is still the highest.
The rapid maneuverability is simply unmatched by infantry.
Even if it cannot be trained into a war horse, it can still be used as a power reserve.
Moreover, whether it is a war horse or a rogue horse, it itself is of high value, and a war horse is worth hundreds of coins.
Feng Sheng knew that this was a great opportunity for him. As long as he reported the situation of the ranch, His Majesty would definitely take it seriously.
The most important thing is that he can save his life with this merit.
...
Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang proposed the issue of separate lists for selecting scholars from the north and the south, it can be said that there was a lot of trouble at the court meeting.
From the perspective of southern officials, it is natural for each person to obtain honors based on their own abilities. There is no need to treat them differently regardless of whether they are from the north or the south.
Now in the case of the North and South rankings, the number of selections is the same, which means that the northern scholars have taken advantage.
Even if it is said that the number one scholar is appointed by His Majesty, I still feel that I have suffered a loss.
It can be seen from the areas where scholars were selected many times that the vast majority of southern scholars were successful in each imperial examination, while only a small number of northern scholars were on the list.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang has obviously made a decision on this matter a long time ago. Besides, it is fair to increase the quota.
But the following official evaluation system immediately silenced the entire court.
Many people want to say it but dare not.
Because they couldn't come up with a strong rebuttal this time.
Those with outstanding political performance will be given priority in being promoted to positions. It is difficult to have any reason to object to this.
I can’t say for sure, or do you think it would be better to recommend someone through connections?
Wouldn't that be shooting yourself in the foot?
And everyone also knows that His Majesty brought this matter to the court to discuss it, and in fact he had already made up his mind.
If that fool comes out to object, it's hard to say whether the future will be easy or not.
When the third thing, the rules for official appointment were revealed, the whole court was as lively as a pot exploding.
Retire at sixty?
According to the level of retirement, the minimum monthly subsidy is five guan notes?
As soon as this plan came out, some people were willing to do it and some were not.
Those who are willing are mainly elderly officials, who are somewhat unable to do their job.
It is also these elderly officials who are unwilling, because they do not want to give up their power, and they also feel that their health is not bad and they can continue to work for a few more years.
Rather than saying it is a meeting to discuss, it is better to say it is an announcement from His Majesty.
Whether officials objected or agreed did not mean much to Zhu Yuanzhang.
In fact, the vast majority of Beijing officials still agree with the views on the regulations for becoming an official.
Because this place is at the feet of the emperor, and the Jinyi Guards are closely monitoring them, there is no possibility of them taking bribes and bending the law.
In addition, His Majesty is very hard-working, and he also pulls everyone to work hard together. Even those who are a little older feel a lot of pressure and can't bear it.
For them, becoming an official is a kind of relief.
According to the regulations promulgated by His Majesty for becoming an official, it does not mean that you will completely lose your status after becoming an official, and you will still have the qualifications to be memorialized.
While the courtiers were discussing, in the corner of Fengtian Hall, there were several literati who recorded the court meeting.
They were specially approved to participate in court meetings. They had no official positions and were mainly responsible for recording some major events.
They are the editors of the Capital Newspaper.
Two days later, the three major events in the court were published in the Di Bao and distributed.
For the people in the capital today, the most important thing to do in their free time every day is to go to the teahouse and listen to the newspaper.
In less than a month, almost all the people had developed this habit.
In the capital, thousands of teahouses opened for business in less than a month.
The main focus is Di Bao’s narration.
When a trend arises, it is big business for most business owners.
There are more and more people working as storytellers.
"By the way, what is the purpose of this official regulations?"
"The purpose is to make way for the young officials behind."
"We cannot read the three major events in today's newspaper separately, but must connect them together to understand what His Majesty means."
"Scrolls will be selected from the north and the south, priority will be given to promotion based on political performance, and one will be appointed to the official position at the age of sixty. If we analyze these three things in succession, we will understand what His Majesty and the old man are thinking."
"This is to allow our officials in the Ming Dynasty to govern the country in a clean and clear manner, eliminate those who are corrupt and bribery, and also allow the elderly officials to enjoy their old age in peace."