"Fu An, deputy envoy of the Imperial Council, and Claviyo, the doctor of the Western Division, have met His Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince." Fu An and Claviyo bowed and saluted. Fu An said to the Seventh Prince.
I was a little surprised to appear here, but it was only for a moment, and then I turned my head and listened carefully to His Majesty's words.
"What on earth is so anxious and confidential?" Yun asked.
"Your Majesty, the envoy of Castile, Quijano, has arrived in the capital and is waiting for your Majesty's summons," Fu An said.
"Jijano? I remember he left India in November last year, and it's only June now. How did he come to the capital again?" Yun was surprised.
"Your Majesty, Quijano left India in November last year, returned to the country of Castile in February this year, and reported everything to the Queen Mother, the regent of this country. The Queen Mother was very alarmed when she heard what she said. But the Queen Mother was also a
A decisive person, she immediately ordered that the Ming Dynasty and Ming Dynasty jointly send troops to attack Egypt in February next year one year later. She immediately sent Quijano to the Ming Dynasty again to report to His Majesty the time for sending troops, and to ask the Ming Dynasty soldiers to agree on
It’s time to take action,” Clavijo said.
"What?" Yun was even more surprised. "In one year, it is enough to gather 30,000 horses and many auxiliary soldiers or civilians, but where do the wages come from?" Through communicating with the banker of the Florentine Republic who stayed in the capital, Yun knew
The financial situation of the country is very worrying. Being able to make ends meet is a sign of the monarch's frugality and the ability of the tax collectors. Most countries rely on borrowing all year round to maintain their debts. The only way to pay off the debts is to win the war and rob from other countries.
The country of Styria has always been victorious in these years, and there is still some money left in the treasury, but it is definitely not enough to hire 30,000 mercenaries.
"Does the Queen Mother of Castile want to use the knight army as the main force? This is absolutely impossible!" Yun said again. In his opinion, the knight army in the West is not even qualified to be an auxiliary army. If Castile
If Yaguo dares to use knights as soldiers, he will definitely fall out.
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother of Castile does not want to use knights as her main soldiers. According to Quijano, the Queen Mother wants to borrow money from many banks and borrows enough money to pay 30,000 mercenaries for half a year.
We plan to hire mercenaries two months before the war begins, send them to the island of Cyprus, reorganize them, and then attack Egypt at the agreed time." Clavio replied again.
"Thirty thousand mercenaries for half a year? This queen mother is really a courageous person." Yun couldn't help but sigh. If Egypt cannot be successfully conquered, this amount will be added to the amount of one dollar and twenty by Castile and Aragon.
It takes years to repay it, and the interest alone can make these two countries breathless. 'This can be considered a desperate move.'
"Since the King and Queen Mother of Castile can do this, how can I be a hindrance?" Yun said: "Immediately prepare enough ordnance for 20,000 troops, and I will also select 20,000 elite troops for the expedition to India.
soldiers."
Although not many troops were sent this time, Yun still attached great importance to it. This was the first time to cooperate with the army of the Fu country. Needless to say, in addition to the mercenaries participating in the war, the Mamluks, the Ottomans, and a small number of Castile,
The army of Aragon and other Fu and Tianfang countries will definitely send people to actually observe the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. This battle must show them the strongest combat effectiveness of the Ming army, making them very afraid of the Ming from now on.
However, how to send troops has little to do with Rifanyuan. Yun did not elaborate on this, and asked: "Where is Jijano?"
"Your Majesty, after discussing with Deputy Envoy Fu, I asked him to wait for your Majesty's inquiries in Lifanyuan," Claviyo replied.
"Go and call him right away. I want to ask him in detail." Yun ordered. Claviyo agreed, turned around and left.
Not long after, Quijano arrived at the Qianqing Palace, and Yun immediately asked. What Quijano said was not much different from what Claviyo said, but it was more detailed. Yun Wenyan said a few words to Quijano, and Yun Wenyan said something. He went down. Fu An and Clave made an appointment with His Majesty and had no other instructions, so they bowed and left.
After they all left, Yun turned around and said to the seventh son Wendi with a look of shame on his face: "Wendi, my father thought that the Castilian Congress would send troops in a few years, but he didn't expect them to send troops next year. Father wants to teach you for a few more years, but he can only let you go to Egypt next year."
"Dad, do you want your seventh brother to go to Egypt and become the king of a feudal country?" Before Wen Di could speak, Wen Yuan said in surprise: "Seventh brother is only fourteen years old this year and fifteen next year. How can he do this? To be the king of a distant land? Not to mention that there are still two younger brothers, three younger brothers, and others who have not yet been enthroned. How could the seventh younger brother be chosen?"
"Wenyuan, this matter is related to the alliance made with the country of Castile." Yun told Wen Yuan about the alliance made with the country.
"Father, how can it be like this!" Wen Yuan said very excitedly: "It is enough to make an alliance with the country of Fan. After all, the country of Castile is very far away from the Central Plains, and the Ming Dynasty is unable to conquer its country; but how can we let Wen Di Marry a barbarian woman as your main wife?"
"A bit stronger than before, but still restricted by traditional ideas." Yun commented on Wenyuan in his heart, and then said: "Wenyuan, why can't you marry a so-called barbarian woman as your main wife?" He said before his son was about to speak. He also said: "The royal concubine of King Han of Qin is a Mongolian."
This sentence suppressed what Wen Yuan wanted to say. He could only think about it again and said: "Father, although the Mongolians are also barbarians, they look closer to the people of the Ming Dynasty after all; but the barbarians in the West look similar to the people of the Ming Dynasty. The people of Ming Dynasty are very different."
"Wenyuan, my father remembers that we discussed what it means to be a human being in the court. Do you still remember the outcome of that discussion?" Yun asked rhetorically.
“Anyone who has written language and can record the history of his ancestors for self-examination, correct his clothes, and understand his gains and losses can be considered a human being; if there is no written language, no history, and no etiquette, even if he has language and can talk to others, he cannot be considered a human being. "Wenyuan replied.
"My father believes that the same can be said for distinguishing whether they are barbarians. There are more barbarians than savages because they have simple etiquette or oral history. My father believes that compared with the Fu Zhu Kingdoms, the Mongols are closer to the barbarians. ." Yun said: "The people of the Fu countries have writing, history, and etiquette, and they have a history of at least more than a thousand years. Although it is very different from the Ming Dynasty, it is enough to show that they are civilized. Although the Mongols have etiquette and history, , but its etiquette is simple, its history only begins with Temujin, and writing was only invented more than a hundred years ago. In comparison, it is clear which one is more like a barbarian."
Wen Yuan didn't know what to say this time. He had just forced himself to say the words without thinking about what he was going to say next. According to his true intention, the clan could not marry any barbarians, but Qin Prince Han's main concubine was decided by Emperor Taizu, and he could not object.
Seeing that his son's face was turning red, Yun stepped forward and patted his head and said: "My father knows that you don't agree with my father's words. To be honest, my father himself does not want the clan to marry a barbarian. But Wen Di's
The fiefdom is very special. In the future, we will have to rely more on the Kingdom of Castile and have no choice but to subordinate ourselves to power. From now on, there will no longer be clans that are the lords of a feudal clan or clans that remain in the Central Plains, and will marry barbarians."
"My son understands." After hearing these words, Wen Yuan stopped thinking about arguing and agreed. Yun said a few more words to him and asked him to go back.
"Oh, my second brother is in the palace, and my son doesn't dare to breathe." After Wenyuan left, Wen Di took a deep breath and said.
"Why, is he more majestic than his father?" Yun said with a smile.
"Of course not. How can the majesty of the second brother compare to that of the father? It's just that the second brother is serious, but the father is very relaxed when getting along with his family, so the son feels more relaxed when he is with his father." Wen Di also said with a smile.
"Haha!" Yun laughed a few times and then said: "Look at you like this. Just now, my father was worried that you wouldn't want to go, but now there is no need to worry."
"Of course my son doesn't want to go to Egypt so early. But if he doesn't want to, there's nothing he can do about it. And can't he still be so embarrassed all the time? That's so ugly." Wen Di said. Yun laughed a few more times.
"But dad, my son has something to ask his father for," he said again.
"What's the matter?"
"My son wants to spend New Year's Eve in Beijing at the end of this year."
"This is natural. My father will not let you go to Egypt early to celebrate the New Year." Yun said.
"But father, we will send troops to attack Egypt in February next year. More than a month will not be enough to rush from the capital to Egypt," Wen Di said.
The smile on Yun's face faded a little. He had ignored this matter just now. If he attacked India, more than a month would be enough to send Wen Di from the capital; but attacking Egypt would not be enough.
"Of course, soldiers and horses must be sent first. Cao Xing will lead the troops to Egypt first, and you will rush there later. My father will ask Cao Xing to delay for a while until you arrive at the sea near Egypt before officially sending troops to fight with Egypt.
The soldiers of Castile are attacking from a flank." After thinking about it, Yun decided on this method.
"Dad, doesn't this violate the agreement with Castile?" Wen Di said.
"There are many reasonable ways to delay the time!" Yun said with a smile: "You are still young and ignorant. There are many ways to silence the Castilians. If you want to delay it for a month, it is not a problem."
"More than two months are enough for my son to arrive in Egypt." Wen Di didn't ask what these methods of delaying time were, but he was just happy that he could stay in the capital for the New Year. Seeing his expression, Yun smiled again.
Got up.
By this time, the sky was getting dark, and Yun was feeling a little hungry after walking around for half a day, so he stopped talking and went to Li Shaer's Zhongcui Palace with Wen Di.
