King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 31
Orthodox ten years, May [-]th.

Outside the palace, a large number of officials gathered, but unlike the previous scene, today these officials are all tall and burly, and it is difficult to see the elegance and easy-going air.

That's right, these people are the military officers of Jinling Dusi, and today the crown prince formally summoned them.

When the time was approaching, everyone had already lined up and stood in advance, and the people in the twenties were silent.

Yesterday, this group of people wanted to have an audience in advance, but unfortunately Zhu Jinghong didn't give the opportunity at all, which made their little thoughts come to nothing.

Not being able to find out the tone in advance made the military officers a little nervous, fearing that they would encounter difficulties soon.

That's right, at this moment their mood is like that of students who are about to refer.

With the sound of bells and drums, several eunuchs walked out of the palace gate quickly and shouted the order that the prince summoned.

Finally, after tidying up his appearance, a group of officials in purple robes and blue robes followed the eunuchs into the palace gate with their heads down.

All the way into Yonganmen, everyone came outside the main hall.

They thought they would be summoned in the Yong'an Hall today, but the eunuchs led them to the side hall on the east side.

Although he was puzzled, this was a palace after all, and a group of military officers could only hold back if they had problems.

When everyone came to the entrance of the side hall, they saw a map in the middle of the main hall, and the outline was the boundary of Jinling.

On the left and right sides of the map, there stood a military officer of the fifth rank, who were the two generals who came to Jinling with Zhu Jingyuan.

Both of them are in their 30s, when they are in the prime of life, their eyes are bright.

On the north side of the map are the two brothers Zhu Jinghong, who are currently listening to the analysis of the two generals.

When the people from Jinling Dusi entered the main hall, the conversation of several people in the hall stopped, and Zhu Jinghong also retreated behind the prince.

As a so-called princeling, he will restrain his brilliance without showing his face.

Otherwise, the prince will always be overshadowed by the limelight, and his idea of ​​using "princelings" as a shield will come to naught.

After Zhu Jingyuan returned to the main seat and took his seat, a group of generals in the hall saluted.

"The ministers are waiting to see His Royal Highness, a thousand years ago!"

"Be flat!"

After everyone got up, Zhu Jingyuan said: "I called you here today to formulate a strategy to suppress the Japanese, so as to fulfill your majesty's great trust!"

According to the pre-determined strategy, Zhu Jingyuan first asked: "The capital of Jinling, what are the results of the war against the Japanese?"

The person who asked the question was Jinling Metropolitan Commander Wang Quanyi, who was qualified to answer, and saw him walk out of the train.

"His Royal Highness, from the beginning of this month to the present, the Jinling Metropolitan Division has mobilized various ministries to suppress the Japanese pirates. So far, more than 220 thieves have been killed and more than [-] people have been captured alive!"

"How many pirates are there now? Where are they entrenched?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, there are still nearly [-] Japanese pirates, and most of them are entrenched on the island. The official army lacks warships, so it is difficult to wipe them all out!"

This is also why the Japanese pirates have not been suppressed cleanly, only because the navy of the Ming Dynasty was not good enough.

It is precisely because the navy is not good enough to control the sea, which leads to the rampant smuggling trade at sea, and the huge profits have become the breeding ground for pirates.

The Japanese pirates who have been suppressed for nearly a hundred years, how many of them are real Japanese and how many of them are participated by the coastal people, is actually not clear.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong interjected: "It is difficult to wipe out completely, so the Jinling Dusi is helpless?"

These words were not pleasant to hear, and everyone followed the voice, only to find that it was a young man in a tuanlong round collar robe and a black gauze winged crown on his head.

Since the crown prince sits at the main seat, this is naturally the thirteenth son of the emperor.

"Master Thirteen, the ministers are trying to solve it!"

"Then what solution did you come up with?" Zhu Jinghong asked.

Wang Quanyi did not answer, but turned his attention to Zhu Jingyuan, after all, this is the prince in charge.

"The words of the thirteenth brother are mine!" Zhu Jingyuan said in a deep voice.

He is relatively experienced in talking to civil servants, but he is blind in the face of martial arts, so he simply let Zhu Jinghong take care of it.

I only heard Wang Quanyi reply: "Report to the Thirteenth Lord, I have discussed two strategies, namely suppression and defense!"

"As for the Japanese pirates on the shore, the ministers and others have mobilized the elite guards and will destroy them at all costs!"

"As for the Japanese pirates entrenched on the island, Gaoyou Wei, Yangzhou Wei, Suzhou Wei and Zhenhai Wei are strictly guarded, and they will never go ashore to cause chaos!"

After hearing these words, Zhu Jinghong frowned and asked, "According to what you mean, the Japanese pirates on the island can't be suppressed?"

Wang Quanyi said helplessly: "Master Thirteen, this clever woman can't live without rice. If we want to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates, we need a large number of warships to participate in the battle, but the court navy is really stretched!"

This is indeed an objective fact, and it is impossible to swim without a warship.

The irony is that there are many warships on the Japanese pirates side, and they are equipped with a lot of fire. In a one-on-one situation, the court navy is still at a disadvantage.

"Fourth brother, since there is a lack of warships, can you submit a memorial and ask the court to allocate it?"

Hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan thought about it and replied, "You can try it!"

Nodding his head, Zhu Jinghong asked Wang Quanyi again: "How many Japanese pirates are entrenched on the shore now?"

As the head of Jinling Dusi, Wang Quanyi was in charge of overall affairs, so he couldn't remember the details.

So he turned his gaze to the back, where Kong Jinshan, the Commander-in-Chief, stood there.

Knowing what his boss meant, Kong Jinshan immediately came out of work and replied, "Reporting to Lord Thirteen, there are now nearly 3000 Japanese pirates on the shore, entrenched in Rugao, Xinghua, north of the Yangtze River, and Susong, south of the Yangtze River!"

Zhu Jingyuan was the first person responsible for the suppression of the Japanese. After hearing the current situation, he finally felt anxious.

"The Japanese pirates on the shore, how do you plan to wipe them out?" Zhu Jingyuan couldn't help asking.

"It is natural to mobilize heavy troops to encircle and suppress. The ministers and others have already discussed a strategy, and please review it with the crown prince!"

After Wang Quanyi answered, he waved behind him, and Kong Jinshan took out a memorial.

After being forwarded by the great eunuch Zhang Xin, the memorial came to Zhu Jingyuan.

Looking at it, it is indeed detailed and comprehensive, and it also sets a three-step strategic goal, as long as it is followed step by step, the Japanese pirates can be wiped out.

Signaling Zhu Jinghong to take over the memorial, Zhu Jingyuan calmly said: "Since we have this strategy, let's just follow it!"

A group of generals glanced at each other, Wang Quanyi could only smile wryly and said, "Report to the crown prince, and the soldiers and horses will go ahead before the food and grass are used. This time, the extermination of the Japanese pirates needs to be dispatched from the various guards, but the food and grass supply has not yet been determined, so... it is difficult." Make it!"

In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the army, after the restructuring of Shizu Zhu Shenzhuo, the soldiers of the capital's guards no longer participated in the army, and the food, grass and military pay were all allocated by the imperial court.

But the problem now is that the accounts in Jinling are in a mess, and it is impossible to mobilize food and salaries according to the actual situation, so the Jinling Metropolitan Division cannot mobilize many soldiers.

So much so that now, the Jinling Metropolitan Division has more than 3 people in the nine guards, but they can't help the Japanese pirates with more than 3000 people.

Just like the lack of warships, if there is not enough food and grass at the moment, there is no way to transfer troops.

Now that the matter has been discussed here, the situation has become very clear. What is most lacking right now are food, wages and warships.

Next, Zhu Jingyuan asked some other questions, and after gaining a more detailed understanding of the matter of the Japanese suppression, he announced the end of the discussion.

After everyone paid their respects, they left the hall one after another.

Walking inside the palace walls, this group of people seemed very relaxed, and today's test was finally passed.

They were worried that they would be reprimanded like those civil servants, but nothing happened today.

Just as everyone was discussing where to drink today, the eunuch's voice came from behind.

"My lords, stand still, the Thirteenth Lord is here to invite you!"

(End of this chapter)