Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1086
"The prince is here to urge you again."

Shizhu County, the Ma family's old house.

The chieftain's house used to have ancient charm. Now, as Ma Wannian has been granted the title of Marquis, the entire Ma Mansion has become more and more luxurious.

The seventy-year-old Quzhou Bo Qin Yiming sat in the main seat, while Ma Wanchun took the second place.

Next to them are the descendants of the Ma family and Qin family, Qin Zuoming, Qin Zuoming, Ma Guangren, etc.

The Ma family and the Qin family have been close for generations because of Qin Liangyu. Brothers Ma Wannian and Ma Wanchun even married their own cousins.

After Ma Wannian moved to Beijing, Ma Wanchun stayed in his hometown of Shizhu, guarding his ancestral home and ancestral graves.

Although Shizhu chieftain has been deposed, the Ma family has gained prestige over the years, and with Ma Wannian's power, Ma Wanchun can be said to be powerful in Shizhu.

At this time, he frowned and said: "Uncle, last time we recruited three thousand troops, and this time we recruited two thousand troops, Shizhu is really unable to bear it."

"This is the prince's business, how can I shirk the blame?"

Qin Yiming had a serious face and said in a deep voice: "If Shi Zhu fails to recruit people, wouldn't this slap on you? It might even affect the Ma family and the Qin family."

As he said that, he glanced at him and said, "Don't think too badly of the prince. Even if he doesn't think of it, the people next to him will remind him."

"Perhaps he doesn't know who works hard, but he knows who is lazy and does bad things."

"Yes!" Ma Wanchun was 40 years old and was scolded by his uncle. He did not dare to say anything and could only agree: "For the current plan, we can only spend more money to recruit soldiers."

"What is money?"

Qin Yiming's eyes were deep: "When the prince took office, he made your grandmother the mountain god. This is a great gift. How dare you not do your best?"

"Besides, the recruitment of so many white pole soldiers this time obviously means a big battle!"

"Are you saying that the prince wants to rebel?" Ma Wanchun was shocked and confused.

"Bastard!" Qin Yiming was furious and resisted the urge to slap him to death: "The prince obviously has only two possibilities to recruit troops and adjust food supplies."

"Either we need to pacify the chieftains. After all, the reform of the local people is in full swing now, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to use more soldiers."

"The second one is to the west."

"Brother, could it be Kang Guo?" The third brother Qin Zuoming couldn't help but said.

"Yes, it's Kang Guo."

Looking at the two cousins ​​Qin Zuoming and Qin Zuoming, Qin Yiming sighed: "It's a pity for you two. Only the baron is with you. It is still possible to be promoted to viscount by conquering Kang this time."

"Brother, our brothers are old and weak. Wouldn't joining the army lose the prestige of the Qin family?"

Qin Zuoming shook his head and said: "However, the younger generation like us can still compete with each other."

Qin Guanggong, Qin Guangning and several other forty-year-old men on the side looked greatly moved when they heard this.

You must know that although the establishment of the fifth rank has greatly appeased many meritorious officials, under the baron is the brave captain and the brave captain, who can only receive a salary and a hundred stones, but will be destroyed if he dies, and has no chance to inherit.

In other words, their title can only be passed down to two generations, and will be gone when their grandson's generation comes.

The same is true for Qin Yiming.

Of course, he was not regretting that only one of the three nobles of the Qin family was left, but he was feeling sorry for his uncle.

You must know that uncle Qin Minping was the deputy commander-in-chief and died in the battle to put down the "She'an Rebellion" in the fourth year of Tianqi (1624). Now that his name is no longer in the credit book, his heirs' titles will also be lost.

The same is true for the second uncle Qin Banghan. He died in the Battle of Hunhe, which can be described as miserable.

Naturally, he wanted to make up for it and let their descendants have titles. If not, it would continue for another generation.

"Although the location of this battle is unfavorable, the peace is with me."

Qin Yiming analyzed casually: "No matter what happens, this battle is lost. As long as you dare to fight hard, you will leave an impression on the prince, and you will enjoy it endlessly in the future!"

"Then if the prince is unstable..." As soon as Ma Wanchun said it, he was greeted with a look of condemnation.

"Pa!" He immediately clapped his mouth and lowered his head.

In fact, Qin Yiming also considered this matter, so he asked his second uncle and third uncle's family to leave.

Firstly, he can gain military glory, and secondly, if something happens in the future, he will not be implicated.

As long as he doesn't collapse, wouldn't it be easy to take care of the two uncles' families?
"When the prince was appointed governor of Sichuan and Chongqing, he immediately mobilized money and food, and recruited soldiers and horses. It was obvious that the imperial court had made preparations, especially with His Majesty's approval."

Qin Yiming said seriously, which was an explanation.

At this point, everyone understood and began to prepare to join the army.

In just ten days, Zhu Cunqu was overjoyed when two thousand white soldiers arrived.

Although he already has the Beijing Camp and the Patrol Battalion under his command, upon closer inspection, it turns out that the white-pole soldiers are truly accustomed to mountain warfare.

Of course, he did not let go of the veteran Qin Yiming and directly made him serve as his staff.

Qin Yiming was old-hearted and began to arrange logistics and troop deployment, which was very orderly.

Although he had always wanted to be the commander-in-chief, it was a pity that the prince could not make the decision.

After all, this general is not only outstanding in ability, but also knows how to take the blame.

If the war goes unfavorably, the prince will definitely not be involved, and the prince will have to bear the responsibility. The danger and the future are both important.

The nominal commander has not yet arrived.

Although Zhu Cunqu was unsure about this, he was calm and unhurried.

Sichuan and Chongqing continuously sent supplies, including armor, gunpowder, tents, food, mosquito nets, and traditional Chinese medicine. It can be said that the supplies were extremely abundant.

After all, no one is blind enough to give the prince eye drops.

Just when the scale of the grain expanded to 50 shi, the general from Beijing finally arrived.

"Uncle Thirteen?"

Zhu Cunqu was inexplicably surprised.

"Your Majesty, you're welcome." Zhu Jing smiled and cupped her hands and said, "I have been ordered by His Majesty to come here to help His Highness."

"Are you sure?" Seeing his face, Zhu Cunqu felt quite uncomfortable.

If this war goes unfavorably, Zhu Jing will really take the blame.

He was staying in the capital to guard his house, and suddenly came to the southwest to help him. If it really hurt him, no one would feel guilty.

"I believe in Your Highness." Zhu Jing smiled and said sincerely and sincerely: "Perhaps through this battle, I can be promoted to a Marquis."

"Marquis!"

Zhu Cuqu was suddenly stunned, then looked at the person carefully and said with a smile: "Thirteenth uncle is brave and good at fighting. What does a little Kangguo mean?"

The two of them walked into the camp one after the other.

Zhu Cunqu said in detail: "There are now [-] soldiers in the army. They are good at going up the mountain and drilling into the forest. They only need to practice for a few months to be able to handle it."

"In addition, there are patrol camps in Sichuan and Chongqing, and the Beijing camp, which specializes in firearms, has about 5000 people."

"That's enough!" Zhu Jing said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, firearms come first. Although Kang Guo is a remnant of thieves, he does not have many firearms and is no match for us."

"Not to mention the Wei Zang Kingdom, the Heshuote Khanate was originally one of the Oirat Mongols. They had to go south to the plateau. They were pampered and could not even defeat intruders. They were extremely weak..."

"Therefore, there are two issues when fighting in the southwest. One is altitude sickness, and the other is food and baggage."

"You can adapt to altitude sickness."

Zhu Cuqu said softly: "Staying in the highlands for a while will help you recover."

"Only for logistics, I plan to hire a large number of tea horse merchants to transport grain. They are already familiar with this route." Zhu Jing nodded, stroked his beard, and said, "Does Your Highness know about ponies?"

"Is that the pony from England?"

"No, it's a Yunnan pony. Although it's small, it can walk on flat ground in the mountains..."

……

Arctic City.

After the prince returned to Beijing, the Heilongjiang General Mansion re-appointed and dismissed the governor.

However, as development progressed, this place continued to become prosperous, with a population of more than 3, and a large number of tribal people came here to trade and obtain cloth, salt, iron, porcelain, etc.

Zhou Zude was riding the boat and looking at the bustling port in front of him, his eyes felt blurry with tears for a moment.

He was about to go bankrupt at that time, and it was extremely hard work to run Arctic City as the prince went north.

The same is true. He controls [-]% of the trade in the North Pole and makes over one hundred thousand transactions a year. He is truly a rich man.

Of course, he was running the business for the prince, and he had to send most of the profits to the East Palace of the capital every year.

Whether it's expenses or rewards, the prince must have money.

"Is the boat ready?"

"Everything is ready, three ships, five hundred people, all first-class strong men."

The steward hurriedly said: "He is a big man from Shandong. He is very strong and can endure hardships."

Zhou Zude nodded slightly, then boarded the boat and glanced at the men living in a snail's nest before feeling satisfied.

Immediately, a large amount of water, food, etc. were loaded onto the ship, and the fleet began to set off.

The fleet sailed along the coastline, passed through the Sakhalin Strait, and then arrived at a vast sea.

Because this sea is half surrounded by the mainland, it is called the Ice Sea (Okhotsk Sea). Then it turns its direction and goes south along the other side of Sakhalin Island to reach an island chain (the Kuril Islands).

The entire ice sea seemed to be blocked.

So everyone calls this island the Seal Islands.

Walking along the northeast of the archipelago, a warm current boosted us. Although we didn't know why, we felt that it was less effort.

Around the Elephant Trunk Peninsula (Kamchatka Peninsula), there is another island chain (Aleutian Islands), which is extremely long, no less than two or three thousand miles, as if it is reaching the sky, so it is called the Tiandai Island by everyone.

It is precisely because of these islands that they can replenish fresh water and supplies in a timely manner.

Of course, everyone prefers to call it a volcanic island. The endless volcanoes make everyone feel frightened.

On the large islands, which were the most adaptable, some indigenous people were forced to submit, built wooden villages, and were even forced to pay tribute of prey.

For everyone who has worked hard for a month, it is really a good thing to be able to land on land again.

After three days of rest, everyone set off again and continued traveling along the coastline.

There are mountains and forests everywhere along the way, and the endless variety of animals is an eye-opener.

After two months of sailing, they arrived at their destination.

Zhou Zude also arrived here for the first time.

The long period of sailing was too much for him, a big and well-off businessman, and he lost three to five kilograms.

Arriving on land this time, he finally took a breath.

Unexpectedly, a lighthouse was erected on the coast, which was extremely conspicuous.

"Go ashore!"

The three ships were moored at the rough dock, and everyone moved the supplies ashore and placed them in a row of wooden houses that had been built long ago.

After a long time, a group of talents came in a hurry, with excitement written on their faces.

The leader was even more overjoyed: "Finally, I've been waiting for you!"

This man was unkempt, and although his hair was tied up, more of it was left outside, like a refugee.

The clothes on his body were also in tatters and had many repairs, which made him feel hard just looking at them.

Zhou Zude smiled slightly: "Don't worry, we have all the supplies, and the remaining parts will come over one after another."

Immediately, everyone brought wheelbarrows and moved all the supplies into the camp.

The camp is in a wooden village ten miles away.

Although it is not big, it has a moat, antlers, a suspension bridge, and even an arrow tower.

The city wall made of rammed earth is more than five feet high, which is an exaggeration.

On the wooden poles outside the village, several corpses were hung and dried in the sun, which was extremely eye-catching.

"This?"

"My boss, these are indigenous people." The man gritted his teeth and said, "These people are elusive and like to stab people in the dark. They are smarter than monkeys in the forest."

"Our wooden village was built low before and was almost destroyed by them. After that, we continued to heighten and strengthen it, and it is now what it looks like now."

As he spoke, he said angrily: "We originally had 50 people, but no less than [-] of them have been killed by the natives these days."

"Although they don't have iron, they can poison, and their bows and arrows are pretty good."

Zhou Zude was surprised: "There are barbarians, so there must be barbarian kings and barbarian countries. Have you ever encountered them?"

"No!" The man shook his head: "We have traveled all over the three to five hundred miles radius, and we haven't seen any cities at all. There are forests and mountains everywhere..."

Zhou Zude frowned: "Since there are savages, there must be a king or a city. Do they all live by hunting? Don't they grow rice?"

"Sowing is planting, just slash-and-burn farming." The man said disdainfully: "If you scatter a bushel of seeds, at most two or three bushels of seeds will come back, without weeding or fertilizing."

Zhou Zude nodded, his face full of disappointment.

It would be great if there was a kingdom or a city here. When the time comes, we can directly capture it with an army and capture the slaves. I don’t know how much energy it will save.

In the wooden village, Zhou Zude walked around and looked at the flowers. He didn't bother to look at the livestock and houses. What attracted him most was gold.

Ten rooms full, tens of thousands of kilograms of gold ore.

Since there is no smelting technology, the mined ore is basically hoarded and transported back when the fleet arrives.

However, there are always surprises in this world, and this is the case with Heshajin.

After a long period of sifting, two large boxes and nearly five hundred kilograms of gold sand appeared in front of Zhou Zude.

For a moment, he was in a daze.

Five hundred catties, there are 8000 taels of gold.

In conversion terms, that is 8 yuan in silver dollars.

But silver and gold are different after all. A bright golden piece is enough to obliterate most people's minds.

Zhou Zude forced his thoughts back and patted the man in front of him on the shoulder: "Zhao Dezhu, you did a good job and deserve recognition."

"Then, boss, can you let me go back?"

Zhao Dezhu said hurriedly: "This place is ready. It's the same with or without me. My mother-in-law is pregnant, and I want to go back and take care of him."

"No hurry!" Zhou Zude shook his head and said with a smile: "You are lucky, there is smoke coming out of the ancestral grave. I came here today to give you an official title."

(End of this chapter)