Nowadays, most of the railway lines have been connected, making it very convenient to deploy troops and materials.
From the capital to Fujian, it used to take at least three months for the baggage train to arrive, and it would take at least half a year to equip tens of thousands of soldiers and horses with equipment and supplies.
But it's different now. With the steam train, it can be completed in less than half a month.
The soldiers and horses sent out were mainly naval forces. Therefore, the fifth military camp was not moved, and other guard posts were also not moved. Only the Three Thousand Battalion and the Shenji Battalion were transferred.
Other troops include the Ningbo Navy, Jiaozhi Navy and Luzon Navy, with a total of 15,000 men.
Including boatmen, sailors, civilians, etc., the total number is 30,000.
A total of fifty-two ships were dispatched, with the Zheng He as the flagship, Zhu Qizhen personally leading the team, Zhu Qiyu as his deputy, and Zhang Mao as the vanguard, ready to go.
At the same time that the Three Thousand Battalion and the Shenji Battalion arrived, the dissuasion group headed by Cao Nai also arrived.
"Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Cao Nai didn't even say small talk, and started to persuade him as soon as he came up.
Behind him, Kuang Ye and others also prepared their words and stepped forward to dissuade him.
Zhu Qizhen was shocked when he heard this. He waved his hands and said, "You all have come all the way from the capital just to persuade me to give up the expedition?"
Kuang Ye hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty is preparing to go on an expedition, but the army is unknown! The so-called improper name means that the words will not be consistent. We, the Ming Dynasty, are the celestial dynasty, and we must follow the etiquette and law in doing things. What is the purpose of launching a war against Eastern Rome?"
In the battle of Tumubao, when Wang Zhen advocated that the imperial commander should fight in person, he came out to dissuade him.
It's just that at that time, Wang Zhen was too powerful and could be said to be unparalleled in the court. In desperation, many people had no choice but to follow the emperor on the expedition. As a result, they almost died in Tumu Fort.
Later, everyone discovered that the emperor had matured a lot, but his temper was still weird and he was a little impulsive.
Now it doesn’t matter whether you can persuade them or not. As ministers, you should persuade them if you need to. War is not just a house game. It wastes people and money. The Ming army is not good at this kind of large-scale sea battles. If something happens, what will Daming do?
Zhu Qizhen also knew what these people were thinking. He originally planned to send Tang Xinggu over to quarrel with the Confucian scholars, but after thinking about it, they had good intentions after all and were not deliberately making things difficult, so he might as well forget it.
I am an emperor, I do things openly and I don’t steal or rob, so what can’t I say properly?
"Ever since I decreed the opening of the sea, the Eastern Romans came to the Ming Dynasty. However, instead of abiding by the laws of the Ming Dynasty and acting in accordance with our rules, they bribed officials, engaged in smuggling business, and even built private buildings on Qiongzhou Island. The port is simply arrogant!"
Hearing this, Cao Nai said: "What the emperor said is that the foreign devils are really hateful, but they are only a small group of people, and they are just a lesson. There is no need to declare war on a country, right?"
"I haven't finished speaking yet!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and continued: "The most annoying thing is that they actually stole the blueprint of the ironclad ship! You should know that in order to build the ironclad ship, the imperial court spent tens of millions of taels of silver and invested a lot of manpower and material resources, almost It took the whole country to create it, how can such an achievement be taken away by outsiders?"
The scene became a little quiet, because this reason seemed to be enough.
You steal the blueprints of my ironclad ship, and I send troops to kill you. This is very reasonable.
Cao Nai looked at Kuang Ye, meaning, come on!
Kuang Ye said depressedly: "I am the Minister of Rites. It is really annoying that something like this happened. However, it is not yet known whether those foreign devils stole the blueprints for their own selfish desires, for money, or under the instructions of the Eastern Roman court. , why not just issue an imperial edict, give some warning, and order him to return the drawings, what does the emperor think?"
"What if the other party doesn't cooperate?"
"If you don't cooperate, it won't be too late to send troops!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded slightly and said: "It's not impossible to be polite first and then to fight, but...this Eastern Rome is thousands of miles away from our Ming Dynasty. If we send envoys to convey the decree and then come back to convey the other party's intention, we will come back again and again." It takes too long and I don’t want to wait.”
What he said was true. It would be too dangerous for the ironclad blueprints to be lost overseas.
If those countries in Europe that are good at sailing take over, things will be terrible!
Kuang Ye thought for a while and said: "I suggest that your Majesty wait a moment. Our Ming Dynasty is a kingdom in heaven. Even if we fight, we have a good reputation. If we wantonly send troops to invade their land, what is the difference between us and bandits?"
Zhu Qizhen said seriously: "Kuang Qing, have you ever thought about what kind of enemies our Ming Dynasty will face in the future once the blueprints of the ironclad ships are lost overseas? By then, if the bandits outside wantonly invade the land of my Ming Dynasty, , so what?"
"If a foreign enemy invades, I am willing to be the first to fight and kill the enemy."
"I believe you have the courage, but why do you want to raise tigers? Wouldn't it be nice to get the drawings back now and get rid of them once and for all?"
"Well... small overseas countries may not have the strength to build ironclads."
"What if there is? What if it is really built? Have the Qing family ever thought that if the enemy possesses ironclad ships, even if our soldiers are brave and fearless and win, what price will they have to pay?"
Kuang Ye fell silent because... Wuyan thought.
The emperor is right. If we get the drawings back now, it will be settled once and for all.
Otherwise, no one knows what will happen.
If someone really builds an ironclad ship according to the drawings, the matter will become much more serious.
Kuang Ye thought about it, but didn’t know what to do.
The rhetoric he prepared when he set out was no longer needed, because now he felt that the emperor was right and this battle must be fought.
"Your Majesty is right, I... I agree to go on an expedition, and all the officials will give their full cooperation!"
Cao Nai looked confused. Why did he change his position?
Didn’t we agree to persuade the emperor not to go on an expedition...
In desperation, he had no choice but to say: "I think that even if there is an expedition, the emperor should not go into battle himself. We have many outstanding generals in the Ming Dynasty who can go out on the emperor's behalf."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "This battle is different from the past. It is a sea battle. If I don't go, it will take three months for the frontline information to be transmitted back. I have no way of knowing the situation on the frontline, so I can't The decision must be made accurately, so I must personally go out in this battle."
"But..."
Cao Nai sighed and said: "Your Majesty, you have a body of ten thousand gold. The sea is very stormy, just in case, just in case..."
"Okay, stop talking, I know!"
Zhu Qizhen smiled and said: "Look at those sailors, they have been wandering overseas for months or even years, but I don't see them complaining about being tired. They can do it, why can't I?"
Cao Nai really didn't know what to say. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he tried his best.
"The emperor is right, sir... please go out with the army!"