amaotonovel Chapter 1159 What do I, Zhu Lao 4, have to be afraid of?
Chapter 1159 What do I, Zhu Lao 4, have to be afraid of?
"You, Zhu Di, the fourth prince of the Ming Dynasty, have an elder brother and brother-in-law above you, as well as Sister Jin'er, Sister Yu'er and a certain female sister to protect you."
“I am Xu Yungong, the young master of the Duke of Wei’s mansion, and your future brother-in-law.”
"The commanders, captains, and centurions leading this expedition are either the Empress's adopted sons or students who studied at the Dengzhou Military Academy. Their relationship with us is so close that we are practically inseparable."
Like a devil, Xu Yungong whispered tempting words in Zhu Laosi's ear: "As long as we can persuade Marquis Deqing, won't the two of us be able to conquer Southeast Asia?"
"The more countries we conquer, the more territory we gain, and the more mineral resources we acquire."
"Even if we can't persuade Marquis Deqing, we can take this opportunity to draw up a map of the South Seas and prepare for a future expedition to the south."
Zhu Laosi's heart immediately began to pound wildly.
Although I dream of becoming a general who conquers the north, what difference does it make whether I conquer the south or the north?
Moreover, Hu Yuan's fate is sealed, and his dream of becoming the Grand General of the Northern Expedition is likely to be shattered prematurely.
If we could get the title of General Who Conquers the South in advance, it wouldn't be a loss.
Most importantly, what Xu Yungong just said makes sense—with my elder brother, sister-in-law, sister, and brother-in-law protecting me, what do I, Zhu Laosi, have to be afraid of?
If all else fails, I'll stay in Nanyang for a few more months until my eldest sister gives birth, then I'll go back. Once I'm back, I'll take my nephew and niece back to the palace. Even if my father is willing to beat me, isn't he afraid of scaring his grandson and granddaughter?
The potential returns are limitless, and the risks are minimal—it's entirely feasible!
The more Zhu Laosi thought about it, the more reliable it seemed, so he simply said in a low voice, "I'm fine, but what about you? Although my father can't do anything to you, the Duke of Wei won't let you off the hook. Your eldest sister might even hand the Duke of Wei a beating."
Xu Yungong scoffed and said, "I'm not stupid. If my father really wants to beat me to death, I'll just run to Sister Jin'er and Sister Yu'er's house. He can't possibly chase me to my brother-in-law's house to beat me."
Zhu Laosi nodded, looked around, and continued, "Where is Marquis Deqing? The key to this matter lies with Marquis Deqing."
Xu Yungong lowered his voice and said, "It is true that Marquis Deqing is in charge of the troops, but the fleet is under the command of Marquis Nan'an."
"Let's go and persuade Marquis Deqing first. If he agrees, then everything will be fine."
“If he doesn’t agree, we can borrow troops from the Marquis of Nan’an.”
Zhu Laosi nodded again and said, "Let's go find Marquis Deqing!"
……
Liao Yongzhong stared blankly at Zhu Laosi and Xu Yungong.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to rescue the Ming merchants, they destroyed Pegu and also conveniently annihilated the neighboring Ava and Siam.
No, do you two want to hear what you're saying?
Liao Yongzhong bluntly stated, "The imperial edicts from above and the military orders from the Grand General's Office all focused on destroying the Bubei Qiang and taking over Bogu, without mentioning Ava and Siam."
“If Ava and Siam get involved, I can barely explain myself by ordering an attack on them.”
“If Ava and Siam remain inactive, I would never dare to disobey the orders of my superiors and the military command of the Grand General’s Office.”
Yu Tongyuan, who was discussing matters with Liao Yongzhong, also refused without hesitation: "Neither of you should even think about coming to me."
"The crime of leading troops to destroy a country without authorization is not something that just anyone can bear."
"Even the prince consort dared to attack Japan because His Highness the Crown Prince was by his side."
"Neither I nor Marquis Deqing have his guts."
Zhu Laosi was unwilling to give up. Looking at Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tongyuan, he said, "So we're just going to let it go like this? We finally got out here..."
Yu Tongyuan glanced at Zhu Laosi and said, "Who told His Highness that we should just let it go like this?"
"The purpose of this expedition to Pegu is twofold: first, to rescue the merchants of our Great Ming Dynasty, and second, to seize the mineral resources of Pegu."
"These two things are fame and fortune."
"But all of these are just superficial."
"The real significance of this expedition lies in the verification of the new firearms developed by the Dengzhou Firearms Institute."
"Like the range of artillery, the lethality of shells, and the actual effect of a swarm on the battlefield."
"There is also the Naval Operations Manual compiled by the Military Academy of Dengzhou University, which describes the role of the Marine Corps in actual battlefield operations."
"And how the army and navy can cooperate deeply to achieve long-range operations."
"These are the fundamental purposes of this expedition."
"Otherwise, do you really think that a few iron mines, oil mines, or copper mines are worth such a large-scale operation by the Dengzhou fleet?"
Liao Yongzhong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said sarcastically, "You two should be more careful. The court is full of cunning old foxes; there's not one you can easily get along with."
Zhu Laosi and Xu Yungong exchanged a glance.
Damn it, that was too hasty!
I only heard that there were arguments in the imperial court and Qianqing Palace about the expedition to Bogu, but I didn't know that there was such a deep meaning hidden in it.
Seeing the bewildered look on Zhu Laosi's and Xu Yungong's faces, Liao Yongzhong snorted again and said, "And you two, do you really think you can lead troops into battle?"
"Putting everything else aside, just consider the ten warships that are setting out on this expedition. How many men and women are on each ship? How much food and fodder do they need? How many days' worth of food and ammunition do they have?"
"If we encounter the enemy in the initial stages of the landing, how should we seize the beachhead? After seizing the beachhead, how should we hold our positions? How should the cavalry and infantry land?"
"After landing, how will the cavalry and infantry advance? What will happen to prisoners of war? How will supplies be transported? How will the occupied territory be held?"
"If the people of Bago welcome the king's army with food and drink, how should the army respond?"
"If the people of Bago resist the heavenly army, how should the army respond?"
"Could this differ from the initial operational objectives?"
"How can we complete the battle plan before our supplies run out, and protect the officials of the Ministry of Works while they complete their mineral exploration?"
"If supplies can be obtained locally, how should the subsequent plans be changed?"
Liao Yongzhong bluntly threw out a whole bunch of questions, and finally concluded in a literary style: "He who wins a battle before it is fought has many calculations in his mind."
Yu Tongyuan glanced at Liao Yongzhong sideways.
What kind of strategic thinking do you, a mere brute, know?
If it weren't for the Dengzhou fleet's staff constantly analyzing various possibilities, you, a reckless man, would probably have just led your troops in recklessly, and you wouldn't necessarily be much better than those two.
While inwardly complaining, Yu Tongyuan said with a smile, "We can put the Pegu matter aside for now. Today is the proper Lunar New Year's Eve. Even though we're adrift at sea, we should still have some dumplings."
"Later I'll have someone go and catch some fish, see if we can catch mackerel, and also cut some celery, so we can make dumplings with pork and celery filling and mackerel and chive filling."
Liao Yongzhong couldn't help but complain again: "It has to be your Dengzhou fleet. It's one thing to have a small greenhouse on the ship to grow vegetables, but you even have an ice room to store pork."
"Sometimes I just can't understand it, are you guys here to fight a war or to enjoy yourselves?"
"..."