Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 857 Expedition and Purpose

On the sixth day of October in the 23rd year of Chongzhen, the North Sea Fleet of the Ming Dynasty, with [-] officers and troops and [-] young and strong soldiers, boarded a mixed fleet of [-] warships of various types, set off from Dengzhou Port, and sailed out of the Bohai Sea. The column formation entered the Yellow Sea in a mighty manner, and the fleet would drive directly to Kyushu Island, Japan after passing through the Jeju Strait.

After more than a month of training with the ship, Zhu Cihong and the [-] guards have generally adapted to the turbulence at sea. In addition, the stormy period in the Yellow Sea has passed and the sea is not rough, so their group of landlubbers did not have many symptoms of seasickness. occur.

During this period of more than a month, Zhang Wenyao convened the main generals of the Beihai Fleet to discuss several times, and finally came up with two sets of battle plans for the prince and the entourage of the Ministry of War to choose from. Li Dingguo, the chief general of the expedition, was given the relevant rights in public, and the news spread, and immediately received the heartfelt love and welcome of all officers and soldiers of the Beihai Fleet.

Since ancient times, almost all emperors and generals have regarded military power as something that cannot be left behind, especially the nobles who personally participated in the battle, regarded it as the best means to obtain political capital, and the prince of Ming Dynasty With such a noble status, he actually handed over the power of commanding the entire army to his generals without reservation. This kind of unconditional trust in the army is actually extremely rare.

After finalizing the battle plan, Zhang Wenyao approached the general Li Dingguo several times, whether in public or in private, and repeatedly told him in the most stern tone that no matter what, he must ensure that the crown prince returns safely and unscathed. If there is anything wrong, you, Li Dingguo, will commit suicide directly That's fine.

After learning the news that the crown prince was going to go out with the army, Zhang Wenyao's heart sank.

It is of course a great honor to be able to witness the prince's true face with his own eyes. After all, even if he and Liu Guoneng were both knighted, they could not even see the face of the emperor. There will be infinite benefits in the future.

But Zhang Wenyao knows that accidents will happen on the battlefield at any time, not to mention this kind of cross-sea expedition, if God doesn't give face, there will be a sudden big storm on the sea, no matter whether you are a prince or a mortal, can you survive the catastrophe? It's all down to luck.

But the matter has come to this point, no one can change the fact that the prince went out with the army, except for burning incense and praying, praying to all the gods to bless the prince to return safely, there is nothing else to do.

The reason why Zhang Wenyao repeatedly asked Li Dingguo to ensure the safety of the prince's life was more like seeking a reason to make him feel more at ease.

The concept of invincibility among the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty has penetrated into the entire army, and the whole army is eager to have the opportunity to fight, because it means promotion and rewards.

To deal with a small island country, and it is said that its army is still using a large number of cold weapons such as knives, guns, bows and arrows. Even the soldiers at the bottom are full of confidence. It doesn't matter whether the prince goes to battle or not. No force can pose a threat to it.

But I don't know what's going on with the climate on the sea.

"Your Majesty's heart is really big!

well! "

The figure of the last warship in the fleet could no longer be seen, and Zhang Wenyao stood on the pier to bid farewell, still looking into the distance absent-mindedly.

Earl Zhang knew that if something happened to the crown prince, none of the North Sea Fleet chiefs including him would be able to escape. At least they would lose their official titles, and at worst they would ransack their homes and behead their heads.

Zhu Cihong, who was missed by Zhang Wenyao, was currently in the cabin of the "Kunlun" flagship of the expeditionary force, discussing and judging the upcoming battle with the chief general Li Dingguo and others.

"Your Highness, according to the information sent by the Ministry of War, since the Kyushu Island Allied Forces possess a large number of military aids from our dynasty, as long as their generals command properly, even if the number of the shogunate army is several times larger, it will not be able to gather and wipe them out in a short period of time.

Therefore, I thought that after our army arrived in the waters near Kyushu Island, we should get in touch with the court personnel stationed on the island to obtain the latest battle situation between the two sides, and then make corresponding arrangements accordingly! "

After this period of frequent contact, Li Dingguo and the others became more acquainted with Zhu Cihong. Although the respect in their hearts has not diminished slightly, their tone and demeanor are no longer tense and unfamiliar when they get along with each other.

The prince is approachable, with a gentle personality, and he embodies a long-standing grace in everything. This extraordinary demeanor is convincing, but it does not make people feel alienated. Li Dingguo thought for a long time, and felt that he used "like a spring breeze" to describe it. The most appropriate.

"General Dingguo means to sit back and watch the infighting, while our army cleans up the mess?"

Zhu Cihong has a high degree of affection for this calm and elegant young general in front of him.

When chatting in the palace before, he had heard his father mention this name several times, and every time it seemed that there was some kind of regret hidden in his father's tone, which made Zhu Cihong deeply inexplicable.

During the period from arriving in Dengzhou to the current expedition, Zhu Cihong had more and more contacts with Li Dingguo. He had the opportunity to carefully observe this general who was once praised by his father from various angles, and the result also made him very satisfied.

Li Dingguo has shown superior abilities in terms of strategic vision and commanding the battle, and he is also humble and low-key in his daily life, never acting arrogant and rude, which especially makes Zhu Cihong feel gratified.

"Your Highness, this is exactly what I mean.

As far as I know, although the Japanese military strength is not strong, it cannot be compared with our Daming army, but I think it would be better if we can hit them when they are both defeated, and minimize the casualties of our soldiers. "

Li Dingguo's remarks caused everyone in the cabin to echo, including Zhu Cihong who also smiled and remained silent.

In the eyes of everyone, the Japanese were beating life and death there, even if they were out of their wits, it had nothing to do with Daming. The officers and soldiers had no obligation to act as saviors. Well, the shogunate army blinked and flew away, wouldn't the court just do whatever it wanted?
"Gu has already made it clear that everything about the battle formation will be arranged by the general. Since General Dingguo and all the generals have this intention, then act accordingly!"

Zhu Cihong gave his opinion straightforwardly.

What my father meant was to support a pro-Ming puppet regime in Japan. Now that the originally selected Weng Yuhuang died unexpectedly, then we can just wait until the whole territory of Japan is wiped out, and then choose the right person.

The imperial court just wanted to find a way to conquer Japan. As long as the Ming Dynasty's army landed in Japan, all the armed forces of this island country would eventually be wiped out, including the so-called fallen coalition forces.

A neighbor without teeth is the best neighbor.

(End of this chapter)