amaotonovel Chapter 639: Go on an expedition to the north!
Chapter 639: Go on an expedition to the north!
None of it is good.
Zhu Chongba, that old scoundrel, is no good either, and Xu Da, that old scoundrel, is no better.
In addition to Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and Zhu Biao, who were far away in the capital, and Chang Heitan, who had looted all the workshops and stores in Dengzhou and the counties under its jurisdiction, and had also kidnapped many people, these people were the most ruthless and vicious bandit gang in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Yang Shaofeng was internally ranting and raving.
Emperor Zhu held Xu Da's hand and kept giving him instructions.
"Although we don't know why that gentleman took a liking to such a scoundrel, his saying 'If we save people but lose land, we can save both people and land' is indeed a profound truth."
"In this Northern Expedition, we must follow your teachings: save as many people as possible on our side of the Ming Dynasty, and save as few people as the Yuan Dynasty."
"From now on, our Great Ming will gain both people and land, while the Hu Yuan will lose both people and land."
"Apart from that, we will continue to search for minerals according to the original plan, and build cities according to the plan of one city every ten days."
"If there's anything you can decide, then decide directly. If you really can't make up your mind, then write a letter to Dengzhou Prefecture. We'll be staying in Dengzhou Prefecture for the time being."
“There’s one thing I need to make clear to you beforehand: you have to protect those craftsmen well. They’re all good craftsmen drawn from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture.”
"Especially Zhou Liangyu and Geng Xingming, those two are that bastard's students, and they're not much bolder than him. You'd better keep an eye on them."
Upon hearing this, Xu Da, who had been nodding, suddenly paused and asked, "Keep an eye on them?"
Emperor Zhu glanced at Xu Da and asked in return, "Tell me, what is that scoundrel so obsessed with?"
Xu Da wanted to say that his good son-in-law was only thinking about how to torment others, but seeing the serious look on Emperor Zhu's face, Xu Da honestly replied, "What the Imperial Son-in-Law is thinking about is probably the title of Marquis of Champion?"
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly and snorted coldly, "As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. That scoundrel is obsessed with the title of Marquis of Champion, so how good can his students be?"
"That bastard is incredibly audacious, and the students he teaches are no pushovers either."
"Maybe they want to compete with that bastard for the title of Marquis of Champion?"
"Anyway, you have to keep a close eye on them and make sure nothing happens to them."
Xu Da was completely dumbfounded.
No.
They're local officials, civil servants.
As a civil official, why is he eyeing the title of Marquis of Champion?
Also, weren't you a little too kind to those county magistrates from Ningyang County?
They're eyeing the title of Marquis of Champion. You're thinking about preventing them from making any mistakes, not about what they might do that would violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty.
Even favoritism shouldn't be shown in this way!
Just as Xu Da was mentally ranting, Emperor Zhu turned his head and glanced at Zhu Laosi, who was standing next to Lan Yu.
"During this Northern Expedition, you should learn more, observe more, and ask more questions."
"In the palace you are a prince, but in the army you are just a soldier. You must obey the Grand Commander's orders."
"If we find out you've done anything against military orders, we'll break your legs!"
Zhu Laosi readily accepted with a cupped hand, and Emperor Zhu waved to Yang Shaofeng.
After Yang Shaofeng arrived, Emperor Zhu asked in a deep voice, "Is everything ready?"
Yang Shaofeng cupped his hands and replied, "Your Majesty, everything is ready. There are 100,000 steamed buns, 100,000 eggs, 50,000 catties of luncheon meat, more than 50,000 bowls, and 5,000 jars of wine."
Preparing these things was truly a life-or-death struggle.
Assuming 15 buns are placed in each layer of steamers, 10 layers of steamers would yield 150 buns. To steam 100,000 buns, it would take 667 batches of steamers with 10 layers of steamers to produce them.
Let alone how much flour is needed, just the process of mixing, kneading, and steaming the dough would require hundreds of women.
There are still 100,000 eggs.
Eggs were expensive in the Ugly Kingdom in later generations, and they were also not cheap in the Ming Dynasty.
To gather these 100,000 eggs, they practically plundered all the eggs in the entire Shandong Provincial Administration Commission and the nearby Henan and Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissions, and only then could they barely manage to collect them.
The crates, sawdust, bran, rice husks, and wheat husks prepared for transporting the eggs required a great deal of manpower.
Fifty thousand catties of luncheon meat is manageable, since it's mixed with starch and flour, and the actual meat used is less than ten thousand catties, from only a hundred or so pigs, which Ningyang County and Yanzhou Prefecture could easily gather.
Emperor Zhu turned his head to look at the mounds of steamed buns, eggs, and luncheon meat that looked like small mountains not far away, then looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, "Then let's get ready to begin."
Yang Shaofeng nodded slightly, then whispered a few instructions to Lame Wu.
After Limpy Wu left to receive his orders, Emperor Zhu walked straight to a warhorse beside him, grabbed the reins, led the horse to Xu Da's side, and said, "Grand Commander, mount your horse!"
Yang Shaofeng also went to fetch another warhorse, walked to Lan Yu's side, and said, "Assistant Lan, please mount your horse!"
Neither Xu Da nor Lan Yu declined.
The two mounted their horses, while Zhu Laosi went to fetch his own horse and mounted it as well.
Emperor Zhu and Yang Shaofeng led the horses of Xu Da and Lan Yu on foot, only letting go of their hands after they reached the front of the army formation.
Taking a few steps back, Emperor Zhu waved his hand, and the lame Wu, the imperial guards of the Prince Consort's residence, and the people of Ningyang County carried trays and presented porcelain bowls filled with wine to Emperor Zhu, Yang Shaofeng, Xu Da, Lan Yu, and the soldiers of the Northern Expedition.
The army of 50,000 took almost half an hour just to deliver the wine.
Throughout the entire process, Emperor Zhu held the wine bowl with both hands.
Only after all the soldiers of the Northern Expedition had received their share of wine did Emperor Zhu proclaim loudly, "Soldiers!"
"You should know that I, Zhu Chongba, went to the battlefield back then, and I know just how dangerous the battlefield is."
"So, we don't want to fight. What we want more is for everyone to have land to cultivate, houses to live in, and to be able to enjoy a warm home with their wives and children."
"Moreover, as you should know, our Great Ming Dynasty is currently distributing land, oxen, seeds, and farming tools to the people."
"As you all know, our Great Ming Dynasty is currently building many community schools. In the future, your children will also have books to read. Who knows, maybe one of your children will be talented enough to become a prime minister?"
"but!"
"Hu Yuan is unwilling!"
"They don't want us to live like this. They want to trample all of us from the Great Ming Dynasty under their feet and make us their fourth-class slaves!"
"Now that things have just gotten a little better, Hu Yuan keeps harassing us and knocking on our gates. They want to go south and repeat the humiliation of Jingkang!"
"That won't work."
"Even if we were willing to be slaves, could we just stand by and watch our parents, wives, and children also become slaves, living like neither human nor ghost every day?"
"Therefore, we have decided to launch an expedition, a northern expedition!"
"Use the swords and spears in your hands to reclaim arable land for the people of our Great Ming, for your parents, wives and children, and to carve out a space where you can live!"
"Some will return alive from this Northern Expedition, while others may die on the battlefield."
"This bowl of wine is a toast to our soldiers on behalf of all the people of the world!"
"Cheers!"