The Most Powerful Man in the World

Unlike Wang Yangming, who only needs to consider military issues, Yang Yiqing, who can be described as the chief butler of the cabinet, has to consider more issues.

An army of [-] expeditions to a foreign land that is thousands of miles away is not just as simple as the expedition of a [-] army. There are too many problems involved.

Not to mention the rest, the food and forage consumed by the [-] army on the way to the expedition is a big problem.

For a large army to go out, the most important thing is obviously the logistics problem. If there are hundreds of people, the problem of food and grass can be solved on the spot, or even exaggerated, even if you hunt casually and kill some prey, you can at least guarantee food. .

But an army of [-] is not as simple as a few dozen people. If the army of [-] runs out of food and grass, it is not possible to solve the problem by hunting or something.

There have never been one or two examples of the collapse of the army due to food and grass problems. The most crucial point is that when a hundred thousand troops go to a foreign land, in the Daming realm, at least they can find a way to ensure logistical supplies, but once Daming is out, then But it really has to test logistics supplies.

Just think about it, the daily consumption of [-] troops is a headache, not to mention transporting them thousands of miles away.

As the chief assistant of the cabinet and several previous governors of border towns, if Yang Yiqing did not know Wang Yangming's thoughts, Yang Yiqing could not have been in border towns for so many years.

However, Wang Yangming had Wang Yangming's ideas, and Yang Yiqing also had his own concerns. As the chief assistant of the cabinet, he must have many issues to consider, so he would object to sending troops and horses to expedition thousands of miles away.

Because of the speed of overseas expansion at sea, that's fine. The speed and consumption of large ships running various materials are far lower than those on land, so the cabinet will expedition overseas for a fleet of fleets. There is no objection.

However, the materials needed to transport logistics grains on land are definitely several times or even more than ten times that of sea freight.

In this case, it would be strange if Yang Yiqing could agree.

I could only hear Yang Yiqing solemnly say to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, just to supply General Lu's [-] army, the court has already invested too much energy, especially the grain transfer, it can be said that ten stone grains were transported to the army. The rest is even less than half, if it wasn't for General Lu and the others to be able to solve part of the food supply problem along the way, I'm afraid that General Lu and the others would have had a shortage of food and grass long ago."

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help showing a brooding look. As the head of a country, Zhu Houzhao is obviously extremely competent. With Zhu Houzhao's martial temperament, he naturally knows a lot about military affairs, so he knows that what Yang Yiqing said is also a fact.

That is, the logistical pressure is enormous, which is beyond doubt, and Zhu Houzhao is also very aware of the logistical problems faced by the expedition army.

It can even be said that if tens of thousands of troops go on an expedition to a foreign land, if the logistical problem cannot be solved, once the opponent seizes the opportunity and cuts off the supply of grain, it will not take long, at most ten days and a half months, even if it is reborn. The elite army, I am afraid that they will also be hungry and soft.

The logistical problem is indeed a big problem. If it is not handled well, there is really no need to mention the big army expedition.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Wang Yangming.

Wang Yangming noticed Zhu Houzhao's gaze, and saw Wang Yangming said to Zhu Houzhao confidently: "Your Majesty, Lord Shoufu's concerns are not unreasonable, but the logistical issue is not without solutions."

As soon as Wang Yangming said this, everyone immediately turned to look at Wang Yangming. Everyone knew about this problem. The key point is that everyone has not come up with any effective solution.

Now Wang Yangming actually said that he has a way to solve the problem. How can this not make everyone shocked? If Wang Yangming can really solve the problem of logistics operation, why would they be such a villain here, knowing that the Son of Heaven is not interested in sending an expeditionary army The attitude of support, but to persuade the emperor.

Yang Yiqing narrowed his eyes, staring at Wang Yangming.

Zhu Houzhao leaned forward slightly at this moment, and he could tell the excitement and anticipation in Zhu Houzhao's heart just by looking at the small movements of Zhu Houzhao's hands on the table.

Under everyone's attention, Wang Yangming slowly opened his mouth and said, "Has Your Majesty forgotten those vassal states?"

Stunned for a moment, Zhu Houzhao's face gradually showed a look of surprise, and he saw Zhu Houzhao laugh with a little excitement: "Wang Aiqing really woke up the dreamer with one word, I really forgot about these people. !"

At this moment, several pavilion elders on the side also reacted. With their knowledge and wisdom, they all understood at this moment, and it was precisely because they reacted that they looked at Wang Yangming with a kind of amazement. .

To be honest, including Yang Yiqing, they really subconsciously forgot the vassal states that had been enfeoffed one by one in the past few years.

If these vassal states are the earliest ones, they have been enfeoffed for several years, and it can be said that they have been completely settled in their enfeoffed states.

The people of Daming are the most simple and industrious. Under their industrious hands, the originally desolate land has been turned into fertile soil. In just a few years, those vassal states have changed greatly.

At the beginning, the food needed by these vassal states still depended on domestic support to a certain extent, but in the second year, these vassal states completely got rid of their dependence on Daming, but instead fed back to Daming to a certain extent. .

Wang Yangming's meaning couldn't be more clear, that is, the idea of ​​attacking these vassal states.

These vassal states are all outside the Ming Dynasty. There are no less than dozens of vassal states in the north, large and small. Perhaps one or two vassal states cannot support the logistical consumption of a hundred thousand troops, but the strength of dozens of feudal states is combined. If you get up, the logistical consumption of welcoming the [-] army is really not a problem.

The most important thing is that if you collect grain from those vassal states, you can completely save the consumption on this road.

Even if it is to move grain and forage from the vassal state to the north, it will save a lot of money than mobilizing grain from the Ming Dynasty.

Although it may be said that the logistics consumption is still very large, compared to running logistics materials from China, at least the consumption can be accepted by the princes above the court.

Now that there is a solution, Yang Yiqing, Wang Yangming and others soon came up with a plan, and Zhu Houzhao just read it once and decided immediately.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't trust the abilities of Yang Yiqing and Wang Yangming. If Yang Yiqing and the others couldn't solve the problem, he couldn't solve it by himself.

Zhu Houzhao made a final decision on the supply of the army's logistics, and directly waved his hand to Wang Yangming and said, "Gong An, I order you to immediately recruit a hundred thousand elite troops, choose a good general to lead, and go to the north to support Lu Dazhu."

Wang Yangming took a step forward with a solemn expression, and said respectfully, "This minister obeys the order!"

Daming, which has solved a series of domestic problems, is now more prosperous than any other period in Daming.

The prosperity of national strength is not only reflected in the hundreds of millions of gold and silver in the Ministry of Finance's treasury, but also in military strength.

The Weisuo system created by the Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang made it easy for Daming to have a standing army of more than one million at the beginning of the establishment of the country.

But now that the imperial court has abolished a large number of guards after solving the guard system, the number of guards currently owned by Daming is only about [-].

Among them, there are almost hundreds of thousands in the capital, and hundreds of thousands in the border towns. As for the others, they are distributed in various important towns.

In the navy, the latecomers came ahead, and the development and growth were extremely amazing. Not to mention the thousands of warships, there were nearly [-] soldiers in the navy alone.

With such an elite army, as the Minister of Military Affairs, Wang Yangming's recruitment of troops is naturally much easier.

Once an army of [-] people is recruited and dispatched, it is inevitable that there will be a large emptiness in both the local and the capital.

After all, even if the rising navy is included in the Ming Dynasty, there are only more than [-] soldiers. After removing the [-] navy, there are only [-] troops left.

If you count the [-] troops led by Lu Dazhu, plus the [-] troops, that's a full [-], accounting for almost [-]% of all the Ming army.

When Yang Yiqing and several patriarchs determined that the emperor's decision could not be changed at all, they naturally began to find ways to help Zhu Houzhao solve various follow-up problems.

Yang Yiqing, as the chief assistant of the cabinet, stroked his beard and looked at Zhu Houzhao after Wang Yangming stepped down.

Zhu Houzhao obviously knew very well what kind of changes in the domestic situation would be caused by the transfer of a [-]-strong army from China, so Zhu Houzhao nodded and agreed with Yang Yiqing's proposal without thinking much at all.

Even if Yang Yiqing didn't mention it, Zhu Houzhao would decree that he would recruit new soldiers to replenish his soldiers.

Here, Daming is mobilizing the army. In a short period of time, an army of [-] will set off lightly. On the way, every state will prepare the food and grass needed by the army in advance, and after Daming is out, it will be a a vassal state.

The will of the Son of Heaven has been conveyed to the lords of these vassal states by the messenger one step ahead.

For Zhu Houzhao's will, these vassal states naturally dare not have any meaning, no matter what they have in mind, but one thing is beyond doubt, that is Zhu Houzhao's will, and they dare not disobey at all.

Grand Duchy of Moscow

After years of external expansion, the Grand Duchy is naturally not what it used to be. As the successor of Ivan III, Vasily III is also not a foolish lord, especially his interest in external expansion is stronger.

The Moscow Third Army that Lu Dazhu led the army encountered was one of the foreign expansion armies sent by Vasily III.

Anthony, under the order of Andrei, quickly disclosed what happened to the Ming army to Vasily III, who was sitting in Moscow.

Vasily is at the peak of his life. It can be said that he has not encountered many opponents on the road of external expansion. Suddenly, he heard that the Ural Mountains that Daming had crossed over and entered his territory, Vasily could not sit idly by.

At this time, Vasily III had just completed the expedition of the Kazan Khanate, and the army under his command had not yet disarmed, so Vasily waved his hand, and the second and sixth legions, which had not had time to be repaired, added up to a total of [-] troops and was dispatched by Vasily. .

At the foot of the Ural Mountains, a continuous camp was stationed there. At first glance, the camps were continuous, and tens of thousands of troops were stationed, occupying a vast area.

In the handsome tent, Lu Dazhu is sitting on the main seat, and below are the military generals.

At this moment, a general is begging Lu Dazhu with a sad face.

"Commander, the last commander is incompetent, and got rid of Andre, the enemy chief! Please also punish the commander!"

Lu Dazhu waved his hand and shook his head: "Andre is extraordinary whether it is resourcefulness or martial arts. If you can catch him so easily, then we won't be dragged here for months by him."

A general said with a bit of resentment when he heard the words: "The commander looked at Andre too much. If the commander didn't want to use Andre as bait to fish, how could he let Andre go? That little soldier lingered on for so long."

Lu Dazhu smiled slightly and said, "No matter what plan this commander has, although he didn't do his best, he didn't put much water into it. Andre has been able to persist until now, but he has real materials."

There was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the tent, and a sentryman strode into the tent, bowed down to Lu Dazhu, and said solemnly: "Qi, Commander, our people have found out that a large army is slowing down. Come slowly, gathered with the remnants of Andrei not long ago, and it is almost certain that they must be reinforcements from the Grand Duchy of Moscow.”

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard the words, and each of them showed high-spirited fighting spirit. If they were eager to try, they would not know what they would think.

Lu Dazhu narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly and whispered softly, "It's finally here, and it's not in vain that I have waited here for so long."

While speaking, Lu Dazhu looked at the sentry and asked, "Have you ever found out how many people there are in the other side's reinforcements?" "

The sentry said immediately: "If there is no accident, the number of reinforcements coming to help should be around [-]."

I have to say that the observation and judgment of these sentries are really not comparable to ordinary people. After all, these are what these sentries are best at. If they can't even determine how many enemies they encounter, then they are not qualified. Probe.

Nodding slightly, Lu Dazhu looked at the generals and said: "Everyone, the other party sent an army of [-] people to come, are you afraid, can you dare to fight with this commander?"

"Hahaha, what should I be afraid of waiting? Isn't it just a mere tens of thousands of barbarians? Not to mention fifty thousand, even if it is one hundred thousand, I will fight and win."

What kind of confidence this is, and only in the victories again and again can the generals in the army have such confidence and say such words.

At this moment, a general with a bit of elegance in his body looked calm and said slowly: "Everyone, [-] reinforcements are not a small number, don't forget, in order to destroy Andre's Third Army, We ourselves have suffered nearly [-] casualties, and there are still more than [-] people who still have the strength to fight in one battle..."

Although the generals are confident, they have personally experienced the violent fighting power of the barbarians in their eyes, and their expressions changed slightly, but at this moment, Lu Dazhu chuckled: "Who said we only have more than [-] people, we Obviously there are [-] people!"

"what?"

"Are reinforcements coming?"

"Hahaha, [-] to [-], if this can't kill the other party, everyone can just wipe their necks and apologize!"

Lu Dazhu's remarks immediately cheered up the spirits of the generals present. Although they were not afraid of a battle, they did not want their soldiers to suffer heavy casualties. Now listening to Lu Dazhu's meaning, the reinforcements from the imperial court are afraid that they are about to arrive. At that time, when more people bully less people, and destroy tens of thousands of reinforcements from the other side, isn't that an easy thing?

Lu Dazhu clapped his hands, and saw a figure walk into the handsome tent. It was the vanguard general of the [-] army who came to help, Cheng Yu.

As the son of the great general Cheng Xiangwu, Cheng Yu can be regarded as a general. Most of the generals present knew Cheng Yu, so the moment they saw Cheng Yu, they were all stunned, and some people reacted and exclaimed: "Could it be? Are you saying that General Cheng is here?"

Cheng Xiangwu's Daming is no worse than Lu Dazhu, and he is also a giant in the army, but Cheng Xiangwu is mainly responsible for the Daming naval division, and Cheng Yu, the son of Cheng Xiangwu, has always been under Cheng Xiangwu's command, as a pioneer general, It can be said that where there is Cheng Yu, there must be Cheng Xiangwu.

Almost as if it was carved out of the same mold as Cheng Xiangwu, Cheng Yu stepped forward and bowed to Lu Dazhu and said, "Last General Cheng Yu, on the order of the Great General, see Lu Shuai!"

Chapter 1: The Rival of Daming [[-] More]

Seeing Cheng Yu standing in the tent, with a tiger back and a bear waist, and seeing that he has the true biography of Cheng Xiangwu, Lu Dazhu is full of admiration and laughs: "No need to be polite, nephew, quickly tell everyone, your father is now coming to the army. where?"

Seeing Cheng Yu, everyone knew that the reinforcements sent by the imperial court had arrived, but they didn't receive the news. Naturally, they were curious about where the reinforcements led by Cheng Xiangwu were now.

After all, the reinforcements from the Grand Duchy of Moscow have already merged with Andrei's remnants. According to the information from the horse-hunting, and looking at the opponent's posture, within three days at most, the other party will raise troops to attack. If Cheng Xiangwu is too far away, it will be extremely dangerous. It is possible to miss this fight.

Cheng Yu straightened his expression, first clasped his fists and bowed to all the generals, looking polite and respectful, then slowly said, "The army commanded by my father is still about a hundred miles away from here, if there is no accident, it will take at most three days. can be reached."

In this era, it is almost impossible for a large army to travel a hundred miles a day, unless it is lightly loaded.

It can be said that Cheng Xiangwu led a large army to travel dozens of miles a day. A bridge is also required.

Of course, this is also one of the characteristics of the march in this era. The most important thing is the food and fodder needed by the army. For any army, the most important thing is the problem of food and grass.

Part of the food and grass under Lu Dazhu's department depended on the difficult transportation of the Ming Dynasty in batches, and a considerable part was robbed from the hands of the enemy.

It's just that in this vast wilderness area, no one is seen for dozens of miles, even if you want to eat the enemy, it is an extravagant hope.

If it weren't for the fact that the army defeated the Third Army led by Andre not long ago and intercepted a batch of food and grass, it would be impossible to say that the army had already experienced a food and grass crisis.

This time Cheng Xiangwu led the elites carefully selected by the Ming Dynasty. After the reform of the military system, if they are not elites, it is generally difficult for soldiers to stay in the army.