I am the king of the dead

When Chen Xunru went to the palace in his gown, Hu Wei alone was able to silence a group of Confucian scholars.

Nicolaus sat and discussed with Hu Wei, it would be strange not to have a lung tube poked.

"Have you solved the problem of high moral disadvantage? This is not conducive to colonization. If you want to do colonization, you can't talk about interests when you talk about morality. Interests and morality are in conflict." Nicholas thought of a point that could be attacked.

Hu Wei said in an old godlike way: "Thank you for reminding me, it's resolved, Daming does have high moral disadvantages, but there are too many people in Daming, if you want to pick some people with low moral advantages and throw them overseas to develop, or More than enough."

"Okay." Nikolaos frowned, and said with a little regret. There is an old saying in Daming that there are all kinds of birds in the forest. Daming really opened the sea and selected a group of birds without any morals. People can still find many, many.

Nikolaoz's eyes flickered, and he seemed to say inadvertently: "I heard that His Majesty is presiding over the Salt and Iron Conference today, and Young Master Hu is here to gossip with me. I think it's because he didn't go to the Salt and Iron Conference. The Ming Empire that has survived for 50 years The elders of the Senate seem to have been expelled from the Senate."

"Who is the same as your Roman Senate for life?" Hu Wei was not angry at all when he heard the words, but handed out the knife and went straight to Nikolaoz's vital point. The Roman Senate system is the root of Rome's rigidity, and it can even be blamed as one of the reasons for subjugation.

Nikolaoz's complexion changed drastically.

Hu Mei made another cut and said: "Your Majesty told me to go. I am so old and always occupy the pit. Young people will have opinions, so I won't go, and I can't hold it anymore. I just sit for a few minutes. An hour later, I was so tired that I could just read the mansion newspaper when the time came, and it’s not like I couldn’t understand it.”

Nikolaoz blushed this time, and this time he was outraged. Nikolaoz really couldn't understand the mansion newspaper.

"Hahaha, you are so old, and you are still so angry." Hu Wei added another knife, Hu Wei is more than 20 years older than Nikolaoz, when Nikolaoz's father brought Nikolaoz to visit Nikolaoz was still a young man in Ming Dynasty, but now they both look the same old.

"You!" Nikolaoz said heartbroken. He stood up and walked for a long time before he finally let go of his anger. Hu Mi just wanted to see him jumping his feet angrily, and the more he got angry, Hu Mi laughed. The happier you are.

"I have some things I don't understand, can Young Master Hu teach me?" Nikolaos still talked about the business, and asked him what he didn't understand. In the future, when the fifth prince returns like lightning, he can also refer to it.

"If you ask, I'll tell you if I know." Hu Wei's words mean that if you can't say a word, you won't say a word. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is still mine. The prerequisite for this communication, Hu Wei is will not change.

Chapter 936 I did it on purpose, not by accident

"Young Master Hu, can you help me analyze why the Emperor of Ming Dynasty...does what he says, and what constitutes his power?" Nikolaoz asked a question that could even be said to be taboo. Emperor's power structure.

This is something that Rome lacks. Compared with the power of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the power of the emperor of the Roman Empire is really different. Nikolaos used the word "Following" to show that he has not been in the Ming Dynasty all these years. Returning with the Roman Lightning to live.

"The composition of power?" Hu Yan smiled and said, "There is nothing we can't talk about. I can discuss this issue with you from several aspects. Of course, in view of your knowledge, I will explain the emperor of Ming Dynasty to you in more simple and easy-to-understand terms. composition of power."

"Your Majesty's power comes from the pioneering work of Emperor Gao, the great ancestor of the Ming Dynasty. As you can imagine, the Song Dynasty lost its way and finally let the northern captives occupy the world. The Central Plains has experienced the crisis that Rome is currently undergoing. It is not a subjugation of the country. It's civilization dying."

This is a very official explanation. His Majesty's current throne is inherited, so in some matters, His Majesty cannot be thorough, such as the issue of the three mountains that His Majesty mentioned, grain rent, high taxes, The Ministry of the Township asked privately, His Majesty still has not done his best in the farm law.

This does not mean that Hu Wei denies the wisdom of the Ming emperor. Hu Wei is a conservative and traditional Confucian scholar. In his personal opinion, it is not a bad thing when he has not done his best. At present, the farm law, in Hu Wei's opinion, has already You have done a good job. To maintain a large number of commanding officers and generals serving in the township department requires capital, and the high tax part is used here. If the high tax is really overturned, Where does the money and food needed for grassroots construction come from?

As a politician, as a politician of the current Ming Dynasty, Hu Wei is not a dreamer of the Imperial Academy. Datong world is a beautiful long-cherished wish, but the reality is that there will inevitably be oppression, meat-eaters and people who are exploited. In terms of current productivity, taxation has no material foundation to overthrow. Building a house without a foundation is like a castle in the air, like fishing for moons in water.

But three mountains overthrew two, and for the common people, it was enough to take a breath.

Hu Wei continued: "The second part is the Daming Jingying. The power of this part comes from the battle of the capital that year, and from the military power that Shaobao voluntarily gave up. For a powerful minister, giving up force is equivalent to suicide. Yu Shaobao gave up force, and at the same time gave up being a powerful minister. After all these years, I have misread many things, and this is one of my misreadings. Your Majesty is protecting Yu Shaobao, and giving Yu Shaobao the Duke of Jin is to share this part of the power."

"And this part of the power, after His Majesty took over, and under the background of the need to strengthen the military after civil engineering and natural changes, expanded rapidly and orderly. Lord Zhong, Shi Heng, can't move the Beijing camp at will, and Lord Zhong doesn't want to mobilize the power of the Beijing camp at will, in fact, whoever tells Duke Zhong about this, Duke Zhong may be impatient."

"The Beijing camp is always His Majesty's Beijing camp, and there are many tools to ensure the firm control of power. The martial arts hall is a tool, the military salary is paid in advance, the emperor's disciples are generals, the commander is a tool, and the construction of Xitucheng and Beitucheng It is a tool, preferential treatment of military family members is a tool."

"This part of the power is His Majesty's power to turn the table. Once the courtiers insist on touching the emperor, His Majesty really has twelve regiments. The powerful combat power of these twelve regiments is the result of several battles. Proven fighting power."

Nicolaus took the pen that Hu Wei gave and wrote in a hurry. Hu Wei glanced at it and said, "You misspelled the word 'Potere'. This phrase is very easy to misspell. In the phonetic text In Chinese, there are too many people who made mistakes, so you have this kind of writing, phonetic characters are easy to do this, because of colloquialism, people 100 years later will not be able to understand the characters of 100 years ago.”

"Just like now, in the entire Tatar, Wuliangha, and Wala, the sum of people who can speak Mongolian is not as many as that of Daming, and I understand Mongolian better than Yexian."

Nikolaoz looked at Hu Wei silently. He wanted to refute a few words, but he wrote too fast, and indeed he made a typo. What he wrote was church-style, while Hu Wei said classical style. In terms of Roman script and language, Hu Wei, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty, is better than him, a Roman.

This is a kind of humiliation, but Nikolaoz can't say a word of rebuttal.

Hu Yan took a sip of tea, leaned on the back of the soft wicker chair, looked at Nikolaoz and said, "In classical Latin, because of the lack of vowels W and J, horizontal bars are often replaced. It is inconvenient to use, but as a Roman envoy, as a biography, I think you should be more rigorous and use the classical method."

Hu Wei not only knew that Nikolaoz was wrong, but he also knew where he was wrong, and he also knew how to make this text more accurate. As the Minister of Rites, as the guardian of the Ming Dynasty's etiquette, Hu Wei has this strength, even though he is old , It is no longer possible to sprinkle water to wash the ground for His Majesty like before.

Nikolaoz corrected his spelling, and said quite sincerely: "Master Hu, you are indeed a scholar of Ming Dynasty."

When he couldn't find an exact adjective, Daming liked to use the word "scholar" to describe him, and Nikolaoz also learned this usage.

"Where did we just talk about? Oh, the second part of your majesty's power is military power." Hu Zhuo continued, "The third part of your majesty's power is the dominant position in finance and taxation, that is, financial power. Power, Your Majesty, is not achieved through tax increases, this is extremely critical, tax increases have always been a double-edged sword, and in the process of tax increases, it is always the people who bear the pressure."

"No matter how accurate the calculation is, it is impossible to calculate how much pressure the common people can bear."

"Your Majesty's financial power and status have been accumulated bit by bit over the years. Whether it is official factories, craftsmen, money law, city ships, merchant ships, etc., it is His Majesty's financial affairs. This is an unprecedented development in the Ming Dynasty and even the Central Plains Dynasty for thousands of years. Your Majesty did not enjoy this power exclusively, but shared it with the imperial court, so the Ministry of Households is more loyal than our Ministry of Rites."

"If the Ministry of Rites loses His Majesty, it is still the Ministry of Rites. If the Ministry of Households loses His Majesty, it can only eat chaff and drink and let others ruin it."

Nikolaoz struggled to understand the composition of power, and he asked hoarsely, "Is there any more?"

Hu Wei nodded and said: "Yes, the fourth part of His Majesty's power is the farm law. This is a point that courtiers are very easy to ignore, and it is precisely what they ignore that is the most powerful foundation of Your Majesty."

"The farm has countrymen, and these countrymen are the main source of the Beijing Army and the Ming Army. The farm has food. When the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty needs food and grass, he can directly bypass the Ministry of Accounts and pass through Yu Shaobao and the General Administration Department, and even bypass Yu Shaobao and the Ming Dynasty. The Secretary of the General Administration directly issued decrees to the townships controlled by the generals and commanders, and the land is the largest and most productive means of production in Ming Dynasty, and this part of the means of production is under the control of His Majesty."

"Some Hanlin and Yushi who are young and courageous in the court always feel that they can fight with His Majesty. What do they use to fight with His Majesty? Even the most basic question of the foundation of His Majesty's power is not dealt with. I understand, always trapped in the old framework of clan and ministers fighting against His Majesty, it would be a strange thing to be able to outplay His Majesty."

Being a bad guy also requires strength, if you don't have any strength, how can you fight against His Majesty.

It's not that Hu Wei is self-effacing, even he dare not fight with the emperor, how dare those demons and goblins of Daming raise eyebrows at His Majesty, who gave them the courage?

"It turns out to be like this, so it's like this." Nikolaoz couldn't help nodding, and Hu Wei perfectly answered the doubts in Nikolaoz's heart in a few words.

Seeing that Nikolaoz was happy, Hu Wei said with a smile, "Actually, the most important point is that His Majesty's power comes from His Majesty himself."

"Ah?" Nikolaoz was puzzled. As soon as he was puzzled, the eloquent Hu Ming just laughed and did not discuss this issue.

Nikolaos scratched his head and said frantically, "Young Master Hu said half of what he said. In Rome, his tongue will be pulled out!"

Hu Wei said triumphantly: "The above discussion is about the power of His Majesty, and the root cause lies with His Majesty. As a subject, how can I talk about His Majesty? If Jin Yiwei finds out, I'm afraid I will go to Beizhen Fusi At my age, the envoy should not make things difficult for me."

After hearing this, Nikolaoz said loudly with trembling hands, "Your reasons are always so good and reasonable, but I very much doubt that you are just trying to make me angry!"

Hu Wei said very calmly: "You are right, I did it on purpose, not accidentally."

"You! You! You!" Nikolaoz was stabbed in the lung tube for the second time and exploded.

Nikolaoz and Hu Wei have known each other for nearly ten years, and it was not once or twice that they were pissed off, and they haven't been pissed off yet. With such a heart, they are very suitable to be envoys.

Under the imperial autocracy, whether the Ming emperor was wise or not directly affected the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Hu Wei did not expand on this last point. He is very clear that all the changes in the current Ming Dynasty are due to His Majesty, the king. From the beginning to the end, from the beginning to the end, His Majesty has never forgotten one thing, that is, the people are the foundation of the country, and the people are the foundation of the country. The people are the most important thing, and this people refers to every individual in the collective of Ming Dynasty, not only the common people, nor the powerful and powerful.

If His Majesty forgets about this one day, the four parts that make up power are high-rise buildings without foundations, and they will be crumbling with a little wind and rain.If one day Daming forgets about this matter, Daming will lose the support of the people, lose all foundations, lose the way and the way, that is, lose the way.

Hu Wei knows for sure that His Majesty will not forget this matter, because His Majesty is a person who keeps his promise. If he said to copy your whole family, even the egg yolks would have to be shaken for you. His Majesty promised King Qing Wei that he would not be the second Tang Minghuang, then absolutely not.

Whether Daming will forget this matter, Hu Wei also knows with certainty that Daming will definitely forget this fundamental thing, His Royal Highness King Xiang also said, Daming, sooner or later he will perish, sooner or later.

Hu Yi was never anxious about it. When he was alive, he couldn't see the day when Daming forgot his roots. As for the day after his death, he was dead, and he couldn't care less.

Sometimes it’s not that Hu Mi doesn’t tell Nikolaoz about these things, it’s him who does. Nikolaoz is a foreigner, and he can’t put himself in Daming’s shoes to think about problems. I understand, it's better not to say it.

"You are always like this, but what you have said is enough. Rome does not need to be as great as Ming Dynasty. What we hope is only inheritance." Nikolaoz is good at comforting himself, otherwise he would have died of anger .

Hu Yi stretched out his hand, clenched it again, looked at Nikolaoz and said seriously: "Actually, have you ever thought about it, Rome is dead, this civilization called Rome is completely dead, why do I say that? It is because the main body of the Roman civilization, the Romans, is dead, can you understand?"

"The demise of Roman civilization is not the demise of the country, but the demise of the Romans. That's why Rome perished. You know it clearly."

"Nikolaoz, don't lie to yourself anymore. Rome is gone. Even if Rome returns with lightning, can Rome without the Romans still be called Roman civilization?"

Nikolaoz looked at the travelogue of the exile in Rome that he wrote without saying a word, just staring at it in a daze.

Hu Wei is not talking about poking Nikolaoz's lungs, not to anger him. What Hu Wei is discussing with Nikolaoz is the decline of civilization, because there are Romans, there is Roman civilization.

Nikolaoz has been living in a fantasy all these years, and someone needs to burst the bubble of this fantasy and recognize the reality.

It is very impolite to wake up a person who does not want to wake up. Hu Wei did not regard Nikolaoz as a barbarian from a foreign country, so he said this.

"You're right." Nikolaoz looked at Hu Yan hopefully and said, "There are fundamental problems in Rome, but as long as these problems are resolved, Rome can rise again like Daming!"

Ming can reshape China, so why can't Rome come back with lightning?

"Indeed, there may be such a day." Hu Wei didn't go further into this issue, and Nikolaoz didn't want to wake up. If Hu Wei continued to puncture, Nikolaoz might die from three mental declines .

Nikolaoz lived for the lightning return of Rome, that was his belief.

"Master Hu, can you tell me about the bureaucratic selection system of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination?" Nikolaoz asked his doubts again.

Hu Wei nodded and said: "You know that if you win the Juren, you will be an official. If you don't kneel when you see an official, you still have certain judicial and taxation privileges. According to your majesty's theory, the imperial examination is to make a person, a family, a fish jump The class transition of Longmen, the transition from being stripped to meat eaters, is why it is so difficult to test."

"The former Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Wang Zhi, was originally a collateral branch of the Langya Wang family. Since he became a Jinshi, the Langya Wang family entered Wang Zhi Wang Shangshu into the genealogy. Later, due to changes in the court, Wang Zhi and the Langya Wang family With a unilateral decision, Wang Zhi directly abandoned the clan. After his death, he did not return to his roots, but was buried in Jinshan Cemetery. However, the Langya Wang family was still reluctant to remove Wang Zhi from the family tree, and took pride in it. "

"This is the social status of Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty, which is above the clan. Therefore, after studying hard for more than ten years in the cold window, once a carp crosses the dragon's gate, he will be proud of the spring breeze; the gold list will be famous forever, and the horse will ride on the eagle for thousands of years, and he will be rich and prosperous."

"Once you study hard in the cold window, once you get a title on the gold list, it is better than the accumulation of generations. This is because the power is in the hands of the Ming court."

Chapter 937 So 29 years, until the building collapsed

"If, I said if, if we talk about this system of selecting talents, the selected talents, for various reasons, especially in the etiquette and law of the Ming Dynasty, which emphasizes the friendship between relatives and relatives, Jinshi all fight for their clan Seeking profit seems to be inevitable and reasonable, so what is the difference between the Ming system and the Roman Senate?" Nikolaoz asked impatiently after Hu's speech.

Nikolaoz didn't wait for Hu's answer, and continued: "The emperor of Ming is very wise, I don't deny this, this young and intelligent king pulled Daming out of the mud, and Use your own wisdom to lead Daming to become stronger."

"But I read in the Dibao that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty once said that you can only study with bread and milk. It probably means that. Reading is a very expensive thing. Whether it is a teacher, or a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, it is extremely expensive. Then children of local clans will have an easier time getting an education than children in rural areas, I am not exaggerating on purpose, but it is happening now.”

"For example, Yao Kui, the current elder of the Ministry of Rites, belongs to the Tonglu Yao family, and is the lord who owns half of the county."

"I understand your worries. In fact, Daming experienced it once." Hu Wei affirmed Nikolaoz's concerns quite accurately, and then continued: "34 years ago, the Emperor of Ming was Emperor Taizong Wen. When the Ming Dynasty was at its peak, and after Emperor Wen's Dragon Yu was the guest, what you said actually happened, and I witnessed it with my own eyes."

"The military guards and the inspection department were purposely destroyed, and a large number of military households were lost, and because of the lack of circulation of the Daming household registration, these military households who escaped from the camp can only become hidden households of the local clans."

"A large number of lands have been annexed, official lands have been invaded, and the powerful and right-handed, the virtuous and the gentry have occupied the most means of production in Ming Dynasty, and then used the strong personal attachment of the land to turn the tenants into their own servants. Up to this point, they are still dissatisfied. , They put their fields under the names of monks and Taoists, Juren, Jinshi, and vassal princes from all over the world, and escaped from Zhengfu."

"Daming's already fragile fiscal and taxation was further destroyed. The virtuous and gentry of the villages pretended to entrust yamen, bandits, rogues, and gangs to set up cards to draw points privately. However, Daming's banknotes could not receive a penny, and because the tax base was weak, the household department I couldn’t even receive the official tax, and the sea was blocked repeatedly, and the ship was built with great difficulty, and it was completely burned by the so-called civil unrest.”

"When you came to Daming, His Majesty had already set up the Shipping Department of Mizhou City. You, the Minister of the Ministry of Accounting, has always been as majestic as he is now? In the past, the Minister of the Ministry of Accounting always covered his face when he went to court, because he even folded [-]% of the money. The Ministry of Households does not have any salary."

"Then began to create folk wind power, which includes but is not limited to, Yan Shenggong said Jiangxi Zhang, Taoist morale, Fengyang Zhu, outburst others, petty family spirit; slandering Emperor Wen for being violent, killing the whole family at every turn; There are countless slanders against Taizu Emperor Gao, the Nanya Xiaoling Mausoleum, and Tongyuan on Emperor Gao's mausoleum were all burned down."

"It would be better if King Jili fought for a little bit, it's just a pity."

Hu Wei previously analyzed the composition of the rights of the Ming emperor from four aspects, legal principles, military power, financial power, and grassroots construction, and then said that the foundation of all rights is His Majesty the emperor himself.

The dance of demons before His Majesty ascended the throne can also be discussed from four aspects and one basis. As a person who witnessed it, Hu Wei saw it clearly and clearly. Those almost childish methods have succeeded repeatedly.

"Then what are you doing?" Nikolaoz seemed to have found a spot where he could poke the lung tube, and he poked it directly.

Hu Wei was not angry, but asked instead, "What were you doing when Rome fell?"

The mood that Nikolaoz had just calmed down began to turn upside down again. Daming is now in full swing, and Rome is still pinning its hopes on the return of the fifth prince in lightning.Bring shame on yourself.

Hu Wei shook his head and laughed at himself and said with a self-deprecating smile: "I am a minister of the Ministry of Rites. When these demons dance wildly, it is not bad to be able to protect oneself wisely. They also ask me what I am doing and what I can do? What do I have to do with Daming's appearance now?" What is the credit? At most it is a "Simple Prescription for Prevention and Sanitation."

Now that Ming Dynasty's national strength is recovering rapidly, does Hu Wei have any credit for being Minister of Rites?If so, Zhu Qiyu would be the first to refuse.

Hu Yi's "Simple Prescriptions for Prevention and Hygiene" has countless lives and people. Hu Wei contributed everything he could to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty with only one voice. Isn't this considered a credit?

Nikolaoz didn't believe Hu Wei's nonsense. If he really had no credit, how could the emperor treat him so favorably?

Etiquette is invisible, but it really exists.

Hu Wei is the teacher and father in the study room. He could see that Nikolaoz still didn't understand it very well. This is because Nikolaoz didn't understand Ming's political logic. He thought for a while before saying: "The folks There is a kind of fighting beast chess, a blue and white text bowl, on which are painted elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, dogs, wolves, cats and mice. From big to small, they can eat big and small, and the same kind can touch each other, but the smallest mouse can eat elephants. In fact, this country , is the same as this game of fighting beasts.”

"Ligers, tigers, leopards, dogs, wolves and cats can eat mice, but elephants cannot eat mice. No one can eat mice, except elephants."

Nikolaoz asked in confusion, "Then what if the elephant eats the mouse?"

Hu Wei leaned on the back of the chair, and said in a little ecstasy: "Then don't play this chess, just flip the chessboard, the imperial power that occupies the ruling and leading position is the elephant, and the people are the mice. When the imperial power cannot restrain these carnivores from wantonly peeling the subordinates, when the imperial power follows the meat eaters to wantonly peeling the subordinates, when the imperial power leads the beasts to eat people, then the rules of this game of fighting beasts will be broken, and there is no need to play .”

"For 29 years, until the building collapsed."

Nikolaoz had never played Beast Chess before, so he tentatively asked, "Will Shangshu Hu teach this to the Fifth Prince?"

Hu Wei said quite confidently: "The fifth prince is the heir of the Ming Dynasty and treats everyone equally."

Hu Wei and Nikolaoz chatted for a long time, most likely they were exposing each other's scars, Daming is now at its peak, no matter how Nikolaoz exposes it, it is not as painful as Hu Wei's few words, in the end Hu Wei won, and his energy was a little low , he stood up cheerfully and left Huitong Post.

But at this moment, Wang Yue, the civil servant of Kang Guo, entered the four directions of Daming from Jiayuguan. Just returning to Beijing to report on his duties, Wang Yue also brought Ashinayi and Wang Yongzhen with him.

Wang Yongzhen is the child of King Fu of the Kingdom of Kang and his wife Ashinayi. Wang Fu judged that as Yexian gradually aged, the political struggle in Samarkand would enter a new stage of incandescence. In the struggle, even Wang Fu could not guarantee the safety of his wife and children, so Wang Yue was asked to return to Beijing with Ashinayi and Wang Yongzhen.

Daming was the solid backing for Wang Fu and Wang Yue's activities in Kang, and it was the hometown of Wang Fu and Wang Yue. So when seeking asylum, Wang Fu naturally thought of sending his wife and children home for refuge.

"Sister-in-law, you've arrived in Daming territory now." Wang Yue said with a smile to Ashina Yi in the car.

Wang Yongzhen poked his head out ghostly, staring with big eyes, looking curiously at everything in Daming from the car window. This place is several times more prosperous than that outside the Great Wall. If you look around, it is full of people. Shaanxi Xingdusi has been renamed Gansu Chief Secretary , and Jiayuguan, as the pass connecting the inside and outside of the Hexi Corridor, is extraordinarily crowded.

"Is this the Ming Dynasty?" Ashinayi looked out the window and looked at the merchants who came and went in surprise. The prosperity of Jiayuguan exceeded her expectations. Compared with Samarkand and Jiayuguan, Samarkand seemed much more stingy.

Wang Yue said with a smile: "When we arrive in Daming, we will be safe."

"Daming is bigger than Kang, and Daming is more complicated than Kang. It's not safe in Kang, but is it safe in Daming?" Ashinayi has always been by Wang Fu's side, and is used to the cruelty of political strife. She didn't think it would be safe in Daming.

"Da Ming is more complicated than Kang, but with His Majesty here, it is safe." Wang Yue said confidently: "With His Majesty sheltering from the wind and rain, neither the prince nor the wife will be in any danger."

As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, Keqian, the censor of Gansu Province, came to Wang Yue with a large group of troops and two hundred horsemen.