"Your Highness, news came from Europe that Baron Silva passed away..."
Riding a handsome maroon horse, the young King Xiang held the reins and walked slowly, with his eyes on the bridge of his nose, showing a bit of elegance.
"Silva? Spanish?"
"Yes, your grandson!" the man who was half a step behind whispered.
"I understand!" King Xiang nodded, his expression unchanged.
He really didn't have any good impressions of this European foreigner, and he hadn't seen him a few times since he was a child.
Not to mention, his mixed-race status has put tremendous pressure on him since he was a child.
The brothers were not willing to play with him, and the court was secretly ostracizing him. He was one thing on the surface but another behind his back.
Many even scornfully call him a bastard.
The noble family was not willing to marry him, so the old emperor personally asked and chose a legitimate daughter of Jinglupp Zheng Hongkui, and they did not get married until she was eighteen years old.
You must know that although Zheng Hongkui has a great influence in the Navy, in the final analysis, he is not a nobleman from Yuan Cong, let alone a native of Shaanxi. He belongs to the fringe family among Spyker.
All of this naturally made him have no interest in his foreigner who was far away in Europe.
"Let's do it according to the etiquette!" He was not confused after all. He did not dare to forget etiquette such as mourning and abstinence.
"Sir, in the new year, it seems that the imperial court is going to use troops against Siam!" The scholar whispered:
"This is a big country with millions of people, no less than Qin, the biggest country among the vassals..."
"Don't think about it!" King Xiang shook his head, with a hint of gloom in his eyes: "We can't count on it, so don't think about it."
"But!" The scholar wanted to mention it again, but was stopped.
Only then did he remember the identity of this man.
Although the sister Xiyi was granted the title of concubine and gave birth to three sons and two daughters, her status was not very high, and there was no maternal family to borrow from her, so King Xiang's power was very weak.
The two rode horses and returned to the palace before they knew it.
His palace was inherited from the previous King Wei. It is spacious, convenient and comfortable to live in.
Only the three kings of Liao, Qin, and Qi have kept their palaces unchanged, which also symbolizes their status.
After eating a few slices of Shufangzhai's sweet-scented osmanthus sugar steamed new chestnut flour cake, King Xiang came to his senses and said, "Bring me the map!"
"yes!"
Soon, a picture of various Nanyang vassals came into view.
His eyes first focused on Siam, and then reluctantly turned to Java.
This was once the Batavia of the Dutch, the Pearl of the South Seas, but now it belongs to the Ming Dynasty.
In addition to Batavia, there is also the Sultanate of Mataram on the island.
"How many countries do you think Java can be divided into?"
King Xiang couldn't help but ask.
"Two countries!" The scholar lowered his head and said seriously: "Now the turn comes to King Zou, King Liu, King Shen, and King Huo."
"They are the last four of the third batch of princes. If they do not win the vassal, His Highness will have no hope!"
"Who do you think has the best chance in Siam?"
King Xiang couldn't help but ask.
"Your Highness, in the palace, the mother is always valued over the son, and the son is valued over the mother. Among the four princes, the mother of King Zou is the concubine, and she is also the daughter of an honorable noble, so she has a great chance."
The scholar sighed: "However, in everything, the emperor's favor comes first. Although King Huo's biological mother is a concubine, I heard that she is very popular with his majesty in the palace..."
"Stop talking about this!" King Xiang shook his head, and then focused his eyes on the islands next to Borneo.
There is a large island (Sulawesi) nearby. Because one of the islands resembles a four-fingered paw, it was named Four Finger Island.
Further east of Four Fingers Island is a huge island, which was named Alpine Island simply because there are continuous high mountains in its middle.
This large island can also accommodate several countries.
Being neighbors with brothers or having an island to yourself is a question that makes people think about it.
"I want this Four Fingers Island!" King Xiang said solemnly: "Who knows what will happen to all the countries in the future? It would be better to monopolize an island to be more stable."
"Your Highness is wise!"
The two of them were trying to figure out how to occupy a good vassal state, while the imperial court was mobilizing in an orderly manner and sending troops to Siam.
However, the emperor kept his pace and continued the great cause of enfeoffment.
The huge island of Java is divided into two, with the Tsou Kingdom in the west and the Six Kingdoms in the east.
As for the prosperous Batavia, it was placed under the direct management of the Nanyang Governor and became the second city under his command.
It seems fair.
Immediately afterwards, the Aceh Sultanate in northern Sumatra was assigned to King Shen.
Then, King Huo, King Hu, King Xiang, King Sui and King Fei, the five princes who were over eighteen years old, were called to the palace.
The old emperor spoke clearly, and the handmade paper fan was like a sharp blade, cutting other people's lands wantonly:
"The Kingdom of Huo is also on the island of Sumatra. It is under the Kingdom of Aceh, which is the Kingdom of Shen, and above the Kingdom of Qi. The middle of the two is your Kingdom of Huo."
King Huo looked at the small place in the middle and felt unhappy, but he could only bow down and bow.
Then, the emperor casually said: "That high mountain island is so huge that it can cover several provinces, so I will place it in the Three Kingdoms..."
"King Hu, King Xiang, King Sui, and you all live next to each other, so we can go and recruit talents."
"As for King Fei, the largest island in the east of Java, plus the two hundred miles of nearby islands, is yours."
(East Timor)
"Father!" Suddenly, King Xiang raised his head and said with trembling fear: "My son is willing to give up Gaoshan Island and go to the Four Fingers Island vassal!"
The old emperor's eyes narrowed, as if he had seen through him.
Just when he was trembling with fear, he suddenly heard this sentence: "I have always been fair, so let's draw lots to decide!"
An hour later, King Xiang left the palace with brisk steps.
From today on, he can recruit talents openly and train his own team.
…
Outside Beijing, a group of new members were welcomed into a camp covering an area of dozens of acres.
More than a thousand recruits recruited by Shuntian Prefecture are pouring into the training camp in ignorance for six months of recruit training.
This is the rule of the court.
Recruitment, training, and future establishment are all separate.
Mao Cheng carefully followed the large troops to the training camp.
His family was not rich and he was not good at reading. Thanks to his uncle who gave the village chief a few rabbits, he became a soldier.
His clothes were full of holes and his cloth shoes were badly worn. The surrounding environment made him feel inferior.
There are few who can serve as soldiers who are worse than him.
He shivered and stood in a row, looking ahead.
Sure enough, a man wearing a thin red and black military uniform came in like a dragon and a tiger:
"You guys, you guys have to take the exam right after you enter the camp."
"Those who can read and write stand to the left!"
There was a rush, and nearly 20% of the people went to the left.
Literacy of 500 means being able to read official documents, which is part of literacy.
"Sure enough!" The big man shook his head: "The first task of the military training camp is to learn 500 words. This is the bottom line. Anyone who fails will be sent back!"
Mao Cheng was frightened when he heard this.
"What? Two sets of clothes?"
What appeared in front of Mao Cheng's eyes were single clothes, trousers, and cloth shoes, all of which were brand new and made people's eyes shine.
This is worn during the Chinese New Year in his family.
"Two sets of clothes are worn until September, and then there are winter clothes. If you wear them out, you have to spend a dollar to buy another set!"
The instructor snorted: "By the way, your monthly salary in the military training camp is only one yuan, and it will increase to two yuan after you leave the camp!"
After speaking, he did not hesitate to have basins of food brought over and greeted him on the spot: "Eat first, talk later."
Mao Cheng was shocked.
Tofu stew, wild vegetable dumplings, a bucket of egg soup, and mouth-watering rice.
This is fine grain!
"The new military camp is like this, so why not go to the Beijing camp to be a fairy day?"
It was a delicious meal that made everyone's stomachs feel full and they couldn't help but admire it.
"Are you really allowed to eat? Just eat whatever you want?" Mao Cheng clicked his tongue and asked uncontrollably.
"Of course, you can eat whatever you want!" The instructor smiled and said, "With the little fat and water in your stomach, you can't hold it down at all. How can you maintain your health if you don't eat hard?"
"When we get to the army, we can only serve two or three bowls!"
Most people may not be able to eat so well during the Chinese New Year, and they are still full.
Being a soldier means you can have a full stomach. This is the first thought of most people joining the army, followed closely by the pay.
Mao Cheng felt that this day didn't seem real.
New clothes, new bed, new quilt, new life, everything is new.