Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 523
In fact, there is one thing that the people of the Central Plains are right to worry about, that is, Zhu Zhanhe is synonymous with war.

In the years since he evacuated from Shuntian, although Zhu Zhanhe has never left Xiangzhou Prefecture, the pace of the war has not stopped, but it is not the large-scale war like before.

Regarding Europe, Zhu Zhanhe has always had the idea of ​​​​eliminating the roots, and he has been working on this in recent years.

When he left the European battlefield, Central and Eastern Europe had been pacified. In the next year, the Kingdom of France also existed in name only, and the Ming army began to besiege the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile.

One and a half years ago, the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile were besieged and exhausted by the Ming army due to their terrain. The Ming army began to fight in northern Europe.

Later wars did not go so smoothly, because the land occupied by the Ming army in Europe was too vast at that time, and they needed to attack Northern Europe while stabilizing the land they had already captured.

Zhu Zhanluo went to Europe at that time.

Later, after six years, Northern Europe was pacified. From that time on, there was no decent resistance force in the whole of Europe.

But the victory of the war does not mean the final result. Starting from the destruction of Northern Europe in the sixth year, the Ming army began a long process of cleaning up the remnants of Europe.

Until now, there are still nearly 20 Ming troops stationed in Europe, of which only about 15 are soldiers trained by Zhu Zhanhe in Xiangzhou Prefecture, and the remaining [-] are all soldiers of the Uzang Capital Division.

However, whether it is the soldiers trained by Zhu Zhanhe himself or the soldiers of Wu Zangdusi, they are rotated in units of one-third every two years.

Therefore, this time he decided to set off again. Zhu Zhanhe was not short of people. Firstly, he mobilized 15 soldiers from Uzangdusi, and secondly, there were [-] permanent troops stationed in Xiangzhou Prefecture alone.

One hundred thousand Us Zangdu Division soldiers, and another 27 from the Xiangzhou Prefecture's permanent army, were matched with [-] civilians, for a total of [-] people. This was already a lot, and it was a configuration for a large-scale war.

However, there are so many soldiers, as well as the necessary food and weapons, which cannot be prepared in a short time. I am afraid that only the orthodox emperor in the world thinks that war is just a matter of the ruler's upper and lower lips touching. .

After more than 20 years, [-] Xiangzhou Prefecture soldiers and [-] civilians have been prepared. The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War have also prepared the weapons, baggage and logistics needed by these people.

War is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Zhu Zhanhe planned to take some of his people there first, so that it would be easier to explore the situation, and on the other hand, it would be easier to mobilize them.

Because he planned to use steamships for this expedition.

After 12 years of preparation, Xiangzhou Prefecture has built more than [-] steamships. It may not seem like many, but in this era, there are already a lot.

Because of the limitations of conditions, for example, there is no electric welding, so forge welding can only be used. Without a crane, heavy objects can only be lifted by manpower and simple equipment such as pulleys. These limitations make the manufacturing of steamships difficult even if the technology has matured. The speed is still not getting faster.

However, Zhu Zhanhe felt that this was enough, because he was not going to fight a naval battle this time.

Orthodox year 16, September 24.

On the Xiangzhou Mansion Pier, the entire Xiangzhou Mansion Pier was crowded with people ranging from King Wu to ordinary people.

"Okay, don't send it off, if you send it off, you will be on board."

Zhu Zhanhe looked at his parents and wife with a smile on his face, patted Zhu Qiming beside him, and signaled him to say goodbye to the elders.

Yes, that's right, Zhu Zhanhe plans to take Zhu Qiming with him in this battle.

Firstly, it was because he believed that there would be no danger in this battle, and no matter how difficult it was, it would not be as difficult as when he went on an expedition to the Tamerlane Empire and Europe.

Secondly, it is because the current strength of Xiangzhou Mansion is actually far beyond what Wala can match, not even the Ming Dynasty.

"Grandpa, grandmother, mother, don't worry, I will take good care of dad!"

There was uncontrollable excitement on Zhu Qiming's face, and he immediately patted his chest in assurance.

"Qi Ming will definitely win the first prize in this battle! You will feel proud in your face!"

"Okay, okay..." Princess Wu looked at her grandson with a distressed expression, but did not stop him.

"What kind of meritorious deeds have you accomplished!?" Princess Wu was reluctant to criticize her grandson harshly, but Hu Shanshu, a mother, would not let it go.

"This is a war! It's not a child's play!"

"Even your father had to obey military orders when he went on the northern expedition with Emperor Taizong! At that time, your father personally led the army to exterminate the Japanese pirates along the coast of Zhejiang. What about you?"

"This time when you go north, listen to your father's words, read more, learn more, and do less. You haven't been able to do it yourself yet, so you have to listen to your father for everything!"

"Oh..." The excitement on his face quickly disappeared, and Zhu Qiming drooped his head and responded to his mother's words dejectedly.

"Okay, let's go back early. Let's leave early and come back early." Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhe patted his son on the back and said to his parents and wife.

"Come on, son, get on the boat!"

"Hey!" Zhu Qiming's head, which was still drooping, straightened up instantly.

……

As Zhu Zhanhe and his son boarded the ship, the unique whistle of the steamship also sounded. More than [-] steamships carried Zhu Zhanhe and his son, [-] soldiers, and [-] civilians, heading towards a destination that had not been visited in more than ten years. advance to the north.

……

Handsome ship, on deck.

This was not Zhu Qiming's first time taking a boat. He had gone to Suez by boat with his uncle Zhu Zhanqi a few years ago. Although it was only a short three months, it was still a long voyage.

However, for Zhu Qiming, this voyage has an extraordinary meaning.

Because this time is the first time for Zhu Qiming to go home.

Although their first home was in Yingtian Mansion, and he, Zhu Qiming, was born in Shuntian Mansion, there was no fragment of Shuntian Mansion in his memory.

"Father, why did you leave in the first place?" Thinking of this, Zhu Qiming couldn't help but raise his head and look at his father.

"Leave?" Zhu Zhanhe froze for a moment, but soon understood what his son wanted to say.

"Are you talking about Shuntian Mansion?"

"Yes." Zhu Qiming nodded and turned his eyes to the north with deep yearning.

"Although you and grandpa have never told me, I heard others say that you were actually one step away from success, but you chose to leave."

"You have taught me since I was a child that as long as you set a goal, you must work hard towards it until you achieve it. But why did you give up?"

"Haha..." Zhu Zhanhe smiled and rubbed his son's head.

"First of all, let me correct you. That position was not your father's or my goal. If it was really my goal, I wouldn't have been so decisive in leaving."

"Then I'll tell you something."

"If someone gave you a porcelain cup and told you that it was fired using a special process and is as hard as steel, what would be your first thought?"

"Hmm..." Zhu Qiming frowned and said with some uncertainty.

"Try to drop it?"

"That's right." Zhu Zhanhe nodded.

"You will try dropping it first. If it doesn't break, then you will choose a higher height. If it still doesn't break, you will continue to choose a higher height until it breaks."

"In other words, when you start to doubt the hardness of the cup, the cup is actually broken."

"At that time, whether it was your Qizhen cousin, the Empress Dowager, or even the people of the entire Central Plains, they all thought that I would usurp the throne. As for whether I had that intention, it actually no longer matters."

When Zhu Qiming heard this, he looked at his father blankly.

He is already 13 years old, but in his memory, this is the first time his father looks like this.

(End of this chapter)