I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 592
Several days have passed since then.

At this moment, on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a huge fleet of ships was sailing on the canal in an orderly manner.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in front of us was once blocked during the Yuan Dynasty. At its worst, at least one-third of the entire Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was silted up, making it impossible for ships to pass.

After Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing during the Tiananmen War, in order to transport grain, taxes, etc. from the Jiangnan area to Beijing, he specifically ordered Song Li, the Minister of Industry at the time, to clean up the blocked rivers and reopen the rivers. This made The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is open to traffic again.

Since then, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has become a veritable lifeline of the Ming Dynasty. The annual water transport volume of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is as high as 400 million stones, and a steady stream of materials is transported to Beijing through this grand canal.

In the cabin, Niels Rosen was using a quill pen dipped in ink to record what happened in recent days.

"Today is the 20th day since I, Niels Rosen, led the fleet on royal orders to arrive in this mysterious oriental country rich in silk, tea, and porcelain!"

"Nine days ago, I and the crew members boarded a ship prepared for us by officials from the Ming Dynasty. Our next goal was to go to the capital and meet their emperor. There was a lot of space on the ship for us to Plenty of room to rest!”

"Oh God, this country has actually dug a grand canal that runs through the north and south. Countless goods are transported to the country's capital through this canal. This canal is so busy that even the most prosperous port in Europe is more busy than Not on!"

"Every day we encounter countless ships coming our way. Some of these ships carry salt, some carry cloth, and some are responsible for transporting entire shiploads of grain!"

"In addition, I heard from a sailor on the ship that this canal has a history of thousands of years and has gone through many dynasties. God, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I couldn't believe it. of!"

"Everything in this country is as beautiful as the paradise on earth described in the Bible. Everyone here talks very humorously. In comparison, the country bumpkins and barbarians are simply disgusting. I I want to stay here forever!”

"It is worth mentioning that the common people here rarely eat bread. The food they prefer to eat is a kind of food made from rice..."

'Boom boom boom! '

Just as Niels was sitting at the desk, concentrating on recording his insights in recent days, suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Seeing that his thoughts were interrupted, Nils had no choice but to put the diary under his pillow, then stood up from his seat and opened the cabin door.

It was Nils' first mate Danny who knocked on the door. At this moment, his face was full of excitement. When Nils came out, he quickly shared the good news with Nils.

"Boss, I just asked the sailors. We only need to sail for three more days before we can go to the capital of this country and meet their emperor!"

Nils couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after listening to Danny's report. The fleet has been sailing on the canal for more than ten days, and even the most energetic people will feel bored.

Now, Nils is looking forward to setting foot on the land again every moment, but now his first mate Danny has sent this good news, which makes Nils' resentment due to being disturbed earlier, Most of it dissipated.

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he looked at the first mate named Danny nervously and confirmed.

"How about the gift you are going to give to the Emperor of Ming Dynasty next?"

"Boss, don't worry, those gifts are all well preserved!"

They did not come empty-handed this time, but carried a large number of gifts. In addition to globes and telescopes, there were also many ivories, spices and gold, and those ivory and spices were plundered by them along the way.

Originally, they planned to return to the same route after reaching an agreement with the Ming Dynasty, and transport all the spices and ivory back to Europe for sale and make huge profits!
But when they learned about this mysterious oriental country rich in silk, porcelain, and tea at close range, they quickly changed their minds.

The country in front of us, which calls itself the Ming Dynasty, is very powerful and must try its best to please it. Anyway, when the time comes, we only need to exaggerate some losses appropriately and then ask the royal family for reimbursement!
Therefore, after discussing with his crew, Niels decided to add the ivory and spices to the gift list.

After confirming the status of the gift with his first mate, Nils returned to the cabin and took out the previously hidden diary from under the pillow.

At this moment, Niels' eyes inadvertently glanced at the extremely exquisite, small and exquisite flintlock under the pillow.

This flintlock gun was smuggled from France at a huge cost. It is usually used for self-defense. Although so far, no shot has been fired, but for the sake of safety, Niels still uses it for self-defense. Keep a flintlock gun close to your body to prevent accidents.

"Why don't you take this flintlock gun as a gift and send it out together?"

……

Huguang is a province with jurisdiction over sixteen prefectures, including Wuchang, which governs Wuchang Prefecture, Hanyang Prefecture, Huangzhou Prefecture, Chengtian Prefecture, De'an Prefecture, etc.

Huguang Province, Wuchang Prefecture.

In the government office, at this moment, Huguang Governor Feng Yue was handling relevant matters in the study.

Since Feng Yue passed the Jinshi examination in the fifth year of Jiajing, he was awarded the post of director of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. Later, due to his outstanding political performance and his meritorious service, he was promoted many times, all the way to his current position as governor of Huguang, and he was a veritable official in the feudal territory. !

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Immediately, a subordinate came in, lowered his head, and reported respectfully.

"Your Majesty the Governor, someone has come from the palace and is waiting outside the hall!"

"what!"

Hearing this, Feng Yue quickly put down the unfinished matters and stood up from his seat. When Feng Yue stood up, he accidentally touched the official documents piled on the table. Soon, the official documents were scattered on the floor.

But at this moment, Feng Yue couldn't care about so much. He only turned his eyes to the subordinate official and confirmed to him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Lord Governor, that person is waiting in the waiting room right now!"

After Feng Yue received the subordinate's affirmative answer, he immediately calmed down, suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and gave instructions in a deep voice.

"Well, I know, take me there!"

"Obey, my lord governor!"

Later, under the leadership of the subordinate official, Feng Yue came to the waiting room with eager steps and successfully met the visitor.

When the visitor saw Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang, arriving, he immediately stood up from his seat and immediately fell to his knees with a thump.

After that, the man carefully took the letter out of his arms and said in a deep voice.

"Sir Governor, here is a personal letter sent to you by His Majesty!"

Feng Yue looked at the letter in the hand of the visitor, and couldn't help but feel a little hesitant in his heart, because usually, if there was nothing important, His Majesty would never write a handwritten letter.

After Feng Yue took the envelope, he turned his eyes to the visitor and gave instructions.

"Well, I have received the letter. You can go down and rest first!"

"Thank you sir!"

Hearing this, a look of gratitude appeared on the visitor's face, and he immediately left the waiting room under the guidance of the guards.

After the visitor left, Feng Yue returned to the study, opened the envelope in his hand, and saw what was written on it.

"Hopefully, the reason why I am writing this letter is to inform you that the imperial court will soon implement the policy of returning natives to locals during the Yongle period!"

"Since the chieftains in the southwest have always been uneasy, I plan to start with them first. You must mobilize ordnance, baggage, food and other materials in advance, and be ready to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion at any time!"

"Not only that, I will also ask the Department of Arms to send you a large number of new weapons to suppress the rebellion. In addition..." After Feng Yue read the contents of the letter word for word, , his face was full of shock that could not be concealed, he came back to his senses immediately, and murmured to himself.

"The imperial court actually plans to re-implement the reform of the land in the southwest!"

Feng Yue, as the governor of Huguang and the governor of Huguang, Chuangui and other places for many years, knew the chieftains in the southwest very well. Although they openly submitted to the Ming Dynasty, in fact they were no different from the separatist forces.

After all, the position of chieftain was hereditary, and the court had no way to intervene in personnel appointments, let alone prevent these chieftains from forming an army.

The only thing that the previous imperial court could do was to wait for the chieftains to have civil strife or to kill each other. Only in this way could the imperial court have a legitimate reason to intervene in the affairs of those chieftains.

But now, the imperial court actually wanted to directly dispatch troops in the name of counterinsurgency to solve the problem once and for all. How could this not shock Feng Yue?

But Feng Yue thought about it again, and it was reasonable for the court to do this. In the past, it was because there were Japanese pirates in the south and Tatars in the north. In addition, the treasury was empty and disasters occurred frequently. The court was too busy to do anything, so how could it take care of the chieftains in the southwest? ?
Therefore, in the past, the main focus on appeasing the chieftains in the southwest.

But now the situation is different. Not only the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast were completely wiped out by Hu Zongxian, but even the Tatars in the north were defeated at the hands of Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao. The imperial court even captured the Tatar Khan alive!
"Now that the treasury is abundant and the troops and horses are strong, it is time for the court to free up its hands and settle the accounts after the fall!"

Feng Yue thought so, and immediately put the letter away carefully, called the guards, and gave instructions in a deep voice.

"Pass on my order to call the chief envoy, the inspector general, the commander-in-chief, and the chiefs of various guards to come to the government office. Tell me that I have something important to discuss with you!"

"Obey, my lord governor!"

When the guards heard this, they quickly took the order and left without any hesitation.

Feng Yue looked at the guards' leaving figures and couldn't help but clenched his fists secretly, muttering to himself silently.

"Huh, here comes my chance to make a great contribution to my career, Feng Yue. Hu Zongxian destroyed the Japanese pirates and made extraordinary achievements. I, Feng Yue, can't lag behind!"

……

Soon, at the call of Feng Yue, Huguang's political envoy Liu Tian, ​​the inspector's envoy Yu Xingfa, the commander-in-chief Yan Yi and many other senior officials, as well as the chiefs of various guard posts, all gathered in the government office to direct the affairs. , Tongren General Shi Bangxian was also among them.

The huge hall became a bit crowded due to the gathering of a large number of people.

At this moment, looking at the guards officers and Shi Bangxian gathered in the hall, even the most stupid person could roughly guess what Feng Yue was going to announce next - there was going to be a war.

Just when everyone was hesitant, Feng Yue appeared in front of everyone with his hands behind his back.

When everyone saw Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang, arriving, they all leaned down and said in unison.

"Your Majesty has seen your lord!"

Feng Yue did not respond in a hurry, but looked around. After confirming that no one was absent, he nodded and gave instructions.

"Well, sit down, sit down!"

After Feng Yue finished speaking, everyone quickly arranged their seats according to their rank and qualifications.

After that, Feng Yue was seen sitting at the top. After clearing his throat, he spoke.

"To be honest, just now, I received a personal letter from His Majesty. The content of the letter is that the imperial court will soon re-implement the policy of reforming the land and returning it to the people in the southwest!"

"At the same time, His Majesty also appointed me as the commander-in-chief of the army in the letter, and asked me to mobilize ordnance, baggage, food, grass and other materials in advance, so as to be ready to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion at any time!"

The whereabouts of Feng Yue soon caused an uproar at the scene, and many officials present were talking about it.

"What, change your ways and return to your old ways!"

"Has the imperial court finally made up its mind to take action against the chieftains in the southwest?"

"Hmph, I have long disliked those toasts!"

At this moment, the Chief Envoy Liu Tian on the side looked troubled. After carefully considering his words in his mind, he stood up and said slowly.

"My Lord Governor, this deployment of troops to quell the rebellion will probably consume a lot of food, grass, and money. Just..."

Before Liu Tian finished speaking, Feng Yue waved his hand and continued to add.

"Don't worry. Your Majesty said in the letter that the necessary food, ammunition, wages, etc. will be sent from the Ministry of Household Affairs. All soldiers who participate in this battle will be given double wages by the imperial court. After they are killed in battle, The pension money is also doubled!”

When Feng Yue said this, he paused for a moment and then added.

"For soldiers killed in battle, those who have wives, children, and mothers at home will be supported by the government at the expense of the imperial court, and their children will be given priority to be sent to free schools."

"In addition, His Majesty will ask the Department of Arms to send a large number of new weapons for use in suppressing the rebellion!"

After Feng Yue's words fell, the officers of the guard station and Shi Bangxian couldn't help but show surprise on their faces.

"What, new weapons!"

Feng Yue took in all the expressions on their faces, nodded imperceptibly, and continued.

"Well, that's right. You must know that the army under his command, Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao who captured the Tatar Khan alive, was equipped with new weapons from the Arms Department!"

"It is said that the new weapons sent this time include improved muskets with greatly increased power and range, grenades, and the latest paper-shell bullets developed by the Ordnance Department. His Majesty mentioned in the letter , this kind of paper shell bullet can greatly increase the reloading speed of firecrackers!"

After Feng Yue patiently explained, all the officials present seemed to have been given a shot in the arm and fell into a state of joy.

Once a war is fought, it means that there is merit to be gained. Whether it is the generals commanding the battle at the front, the soldiers who are fighting desperately, or even the officials in charge of logistics, they can also take this opportunity to accumulate merit and prepare for future promotions. .

Everyone can benefit from it, and the imperial court not only provides strong support in terms of food, wages, ordnance, but is also about to send a large number of new weapons. If these configurations cannot defeat those chieftains, these officials present can find some. Tofu knocked himself to death.

Feng Yue looked at the expressions of everyone present, and after thinking about it for a long time, he gave instructions in a deep voice.

"Now, listen to my order. From now on, Yongzhou Guard, Huangzhou Guard, Ningyuan Guard, Yuezhou Guard, Changde Guard..."

All the officers of the guard station whose names were called by Feng Yue stood up from their seats one after another and responded in a deep voice.

"Obey, my lord governor!"

When Shi Bangxian saw this situation, he became more and more anxious. Finally, just when he was about to lose control, Feng Yue called his name.

"Shi Bangxian, when the time comes, you will be the vanguard and command [-] troops!"

After listening to Feng Yue's instructions, Shi Bangxian immediately looked stern, stood up from his seat, cupped his hands, and responded in a deep voice.

"Yes, Lord Governor!"

(End of this chapter)