A large fleet appeared in the offshore waters of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Hao led twenty steel giants and hundreds of warships approaching Tanggukou of the Ming Dynasty, but did not immediately launch a landing operation.
For Zhu Hao, what he wants to do is not a sneak attack. With the troops and horses he currently commands, it will be easy to capture the capital. What he wants to do is to completely subdue the entire Ming Dynasty from top to bottom and make the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers realize that he
Our army is invincible, so don't even think about resisting.
The news quickly spread back to the capital.
After Zhu Si learned the news, he held another court meeting for the first time nearly a year after leaving the court.
At this time, the situation in the court changed drastically.
Fei Hong, the chief minister of the cabinet, has become an official. The current chief minister is Liu Chun, and the remaining two cabinet ministers are Yang Yiqing and Zhang Cong. Gui E did not join the cabinet, but became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.
Wang Shizhong, the Minister of War, Hu Shining, the Minister of Punishments, Zou Wensheng, the Minister of Husbandry, Fang Xianfu, the Minister of Rites, and Tong Rui, the Minister of Works. Many new people have emerged in the court in the past few years, but Zhu Si basically adheres to the concept of using more members of the rites faction to order the court.
The hall was filled with various people who had had close relations with Prince Xing's Mansion.
However, Liu Chun's appointment as the chief minister also represented a moderate attitude of sitting on the fence. Many court officials did not belong to the traditional factions or the rites faction, so that the order of the court could still be delicately balanced.
Liu Chun had resigned many times, but he was not obsessed with power and position. He was ready to hand over the whole mess to Yang Yiqing, but unfortunately he did not get Zhu Si's permission.
"Your Majesty, Di Yi did not launch a landing battle this time, or was afraid of the power of our Ming army. Previously, Tianjin Guards sent ships to test, but they were sunk by their huge ships and cannons. According to the soldiers who were rescued, the opponent
There are many Javanese people on the bow of the boat. They are short in stature, but they are proficient in our Ming language..."
Wang Shizhong, Minister of War, reported the situation to Zhu Si.
Now let alone the center of the imperial court, even the officers and soldiers of the front guard station have not figured out what is going on.
At this time, another group of troops sent by Zhu Hao had already arrived at the estuary of the Yangtze River, preparing to penetrate deep into the inland waterway and launch a fierce attack on Nanjing City. They also followed Zhu Hao's instructions and did not engage in opportunistic warfare, but to fight head-on, that is,
We must win without any suspense so that everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows that the attacker is an invincible force.
But unlike the situation in the north, the navy in charge of Lu Wan was stationed in the south.
Historically, Lu Wan died in the fifth year of Jiajing, but because Zhu Hao helped him return to the court, his career was rejuvenated. As the saying goes, people are in high spirits when happy events happen, so now that Lu Wan is seventy-one years old, he is still alive.
Active on the front line of the battlefield.
Zhu Si's face was gloomy, he looked around at all the civil and military officials, and then asked coldly: "Then are they here to pay tribute, or are they here to start a war with me, the Ming Dynasty?"
When these words were placed in such a solemn occasion as the court meeting, no one except the senior officials of the Ministry of War could stand up and answer.
If you say the wrong thing, it will be like setting a trap for your own career. It is best to avoid making such final decisions.
Wang Shizhong, Minister of the Ministry of War, could only bite the bullet and continue to report: "Since the opponent has fired artillery, it is an invasion. But according to the reports from the soldiers, the opponent's warships are all giant steel ships. If there are mountains floating on the sea, even if they attack with fire,
It cannot be caused to burn up, and the range of its artillery is so far... it is unimaginable that it can even fire from four to five miles away, and its accuracy... is astonishingly high."
"ah!?"
The ministers present initially thought that the emperor was making a fuss out of a molehill, but now they realized that the person who came here was not a good person.
Liu Chun finally spoke: "If there is only a big ship on the sea, as long as the thieves don't land, I think it will be fine."
Wang Shizhong said: "If there are such powerful ships and cannons on the sea, I am afraid that there will also be powerful firearms after landing. I suggest that the imperial court send troops and horses from various places to gather in the coastal areas of Tianjin to prevent Di Yi from landing."
"Send troops and horses? From where?"
Zhu Si was a little annoyed.
Are you here making jokes with me?
You are asked to give a strategy for dealing with the enemy. You don’t even know who the enemy is or what they want to do. How can you talk about mobilizing troops? The soldiers will come just by talking about it?
Wang Shizhong said cautiously: "Deploy troops and horses from the capital camp."
"Jingying?"
Zhu Si frowned and said, "The soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp have gone to Tianjin. Doesn't it mean that the door to the capital area is open? No!"
Zhu Si has always been skeptical about the legitimacy of his throne, fearing that others will dethrone him, so what he is thinking about now is how to ensure his throne, and he is unwilling to allocate troops from the army that protects him.
Fighting with a group of people who don't know where they come from and what they want to do.
As the most knowledgeable person in the court, Yang Yiqing came out and said: "Your Majesty, you can dispatch troops from the northern states, especially the coastal guards. The other party has not landed yet, or they just want to start trade with the Ming Dynasty, so they may not send troops.
Ashore... I will conquer the world in Ming Dynasty, expel the Tartars, and restore China. I have never been afraid of anyone in land warfare, so I think it should be easy to deal with it."
"Should? What do you mean should? What I want is assurance!"
Zhu Si's attitude was arrogant.
The ministers were quite speechless after hearing this.
I haven’t seen the emperor for a year. Many appointments of ministers were done with just a handwriting. Now that the emperor and his ministers are meeting to discuss things, the emperor is so arrogant when he comes. Why must he ensure it? We don’t even know the origin and purpose of this group of people.
I don’t know, what can be ensured?
Is this a bad habit that spoils you, the Emperor?
Zhu Si did not let it go without hesitation.
In the past, Zhu Hao made suggestions for him, and every time he could explain almost all aspects of the matter thoroughly, come up with various solutions, and basically implement them, this made Zhu Si take it for granted that he was now facing the threat of foreign barbarians.
, you should be responsible to the end, instead of deceiving me with some specious conclusions.
Yang Yiqing said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to personally lead the troops to defend against the enemy."
"Need not."
Zhu Si obviously didn't trust Yang Yiqing, so he thought for a moment and said, "First mobilize soldiers and horses from various garrison stations, especially Beizhili, Liaodong and other places, and send troops nearby to gather 10,000 troops to guard Tianjin's first-line coast. If the bandits launch a rash landing,
, just use muskets and artillery to kill them back!"
Liu Chun stepped forward and asked: "But what if Di Yi's fleet stays around for a long time?"
"Then send ships from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places northward to fight with them!"
Zhu Si was also annoyed.
You have no idea, I have given you a strategy to deal with it, but you are still beeping like this. I am giving you face, right?
Yang Yiqing said: "The other party's intentions are unclear, and they may send envoys to find out their details."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Si became more and more angry, as if he had taken gunpowder, and said angrily: "Mr. Yang Ge, do you advocate war or peace?"
"this……"
Yang Yiqing actually wanted to say that these people came with bad intentions.
I have never heard of anyone who can make a ship out of steel. Can this thing be moved by sails? How did they appear in the Ming Dynasty?
Also, if they had such powerful ships, how could those sail warships of the Ming Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River be able to deal with them? The artillery range of the Ming Dynasty was four or five miles... It was difficult for the Ming Dynasty's artillery to even have a range of two miles.
There is no need to fight this kind of naval battle.
It is better to ask the other party clearly what they need and drive away these unkind people as soon as possible. Even if it means sacrificing some benefits, it is worth it.
If the opponent just wants to show off their muscles with steel ships, then just let them show off. Anyway, for Ming Dynasty, it is best not to touch such a powerful enemy rashly. Even if they want to start a war, they must first learn the opponent's techniques.
Let’s talk about it again... The way to win is to exploit strengths and avoid weaknesses, and the so-called strengthening of strengths is, of course, to use the Ming Dynasty’s combat method of combining cavalry and infantry.
Large steel sea-going ships can't just rush ashore when they dock, right? They always need to carry soldiers ashore in small boats. By then, won't the opportunity for Ming artillery and archers come?
Zhu Siyouyan refused to advance, and said angrily: "If we can't kill the bandits within half a month, I will ask the generals who led the troops!"
…
…
The Ming Dynasty began to mobilize troops to defend Zhu Hao's troops.
Assembling ten thousand soldiers and horses... Zhu Si thought that the number should be enough, but what he didn't know was that these few soldiers and horses were not even enough to fill the gap between Zhu Hao's army.
That is to say, when thousands of men and horses were mobilized from various guard posts near Tianjin Guard and began to set up defenses near the coast, Zhu Hao asked them to learn what the difference in weapons was.
That night, a salvo of artillery fire directly razed all the temporary fortresses built on the coast to the ground. And taking advantage of the darkness, Zhu Hao's army began to land and quickly occupied the shipyards built next to the sea and the city built on the shipyards.
, and then quickly build a defensive line.
The so-called defense line is actually very simple. It relies on the simple walls of the city to deploy a large number of forts. In this way, as long as the Ming army comes within five miles of the city, all of them will be blown to pieces.
The first step was to land 10,000 troops, half of which were used to defend the city, and the other half to attack on their own initiative. The number did not need to be too large, Zhu Hao just wanted to show off his muscles.
If tens of thousands of soldiers and horses were dispatched at one time to defeat the Ming army, it would appear that the Ming Dynasty was invincible. Even if it was fought with 5,000 soldiers and horses, it would still be invincible.
The news spread back to the capital, causing a stir in both the government and the public.
This time, Zhu Si did not hold another court meeting to discuss the matter. Instead, he directly called the Minister of War, Wang Shizhong, and several members of the cabinet to Qianqing Palace, with the intention of just... cursing people.
"Are you all cowards? You said before that they would not be allowed to land and were kept at sea. However, in just two days, they not only landed on the beach, but also occupied the offshore city... Where are the 10,000 soldiers and horses of the imperial court? Why are they not organized?
Counterattack, but let the opponent gain a firm foothold?"
Zhu Si was furious.
Wang Shizhong explained: "Back to Your Majesty, the current situation shows that the Di Yi are people from overseas. It is not clear which country they came from, but their intention seems to be to occupy the coastal area and build forts there. It seems to have something to do with it.
I, Ming, have long-term trade plans."
"You bastard!" Zhu Si shouted angrily, "Occupy my territory and still want to do business with Ming Dynasty? Just in Tianjin Wei? Under my nose?"
What Zhu Si wants to say is, it would be fine if they were making trouble on the southeast coast, but now they are showing off their power under my nose?
You want to occupy the land of Ming Dynasty without even submitting your credentials or even saying hello?
Yang Yiqing said: "Your Majesty, at this point, we have to use the troops from the Beijing camp as the main force to go to Tianjin to fight. If we only use the troops from the local guards, it will only be a drop in the bucket."
Wang Shizhong said: "Mr. Yang Ge, judging from the current situation, there are not many Di Yi troops who have landed. If they don't collect them at night, I estimate that they are only about 10,000. It should not be difficult to repel them."
Yang Yiqing shook his head and said: "As long as their ships are still there, it will be a situation where they can advance, attack, retreat or defend, which is not good for our Ming Dynasty. At this time, we should gather people from all walks of life. If we only attack with 20,000 to 30,000 people and form a refueling tactic, it will not be enough."
To make things happen.”
Zhu Si seemed to have no better choice at this time, and said sternly: "The northwest has been relatively peaceful for the past two years. Then we will mobilize 30,000 troops from Xuanfu and other places, and send 10,000 troops from the Beijing camp to cooperate.
The local garrison, which has assembled an army of 60,000 people, must not let them take another step forward! Something happened..."
Zhu Si wanted to threaten people, but thought that scaring people with white teeth would have no effect, so he simply kept silent.
In his opinion, I have the advantage of 60,000 against 10,000. Besides, the Beijing camp is also equipped with those advanced weapons invented by Zhu Hao. I should definitely win now, right?