Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 549: New Source of Unrest in America
After the plan to continue assimilating the Jurchens and the imperial court or the inner treasury invested heavily in the development of the Northeast was determined, the problem of the Mongols became much easier to solve.
After all, the road from Baotou to Beijing has been completed, and the railway is about to be completed. There are countless minerals underground in the entire Hetao area. It just so happens that the demand for steel in the Ming Dynasty has increased sharply in recent years. Then, we can expand the scale and output of the Baotou Heavy Industry Base and absorb more Mongolians to work in the factory.
After the solutions to these major issues were basically determined, Zhu Youdong and his ministers began to discuss and decide on some routine issues of the country. Gradually, the meeting that started in the morning slowly lasted until the evening.
While they were working hard for the country, in another room next to the conference room, several men from northern Shaanxi had been waiting anxiously.
"Oh, it's been a long time. Do we have to wait until the killing time?"
"Yes, Master Cheng, you said, when will the Emperor come to kill him?"
"That's right. Although the food at noon was delicious and the roujiamo at night was also very authentic, we were sent to Beijing by the Shaanxi Provincial Government. It's not like the Emperor would treat us to two meals, right?"
"Master Cheng, you said that the emperor wants to see us for murder? We didn't even know each other before."
In this room of about 30 square meters, with a simple yet elegant decoration style, Cheng Zongyu, the current top master of the palace and Zhu Youdong's chief guard, sits steadily in the first position on the left side of the main seat, quietly closing his eyes to rest for a long time.
At first, these men from northern Shaanxi sat quietly and even suppressed the slurping sounds when eating at noon and in the evening. However, it was already around 10 o'clock in the evening. According to the habits of people in that era, everyone would have gone to bed with their wives by now, but they had to sit here and wait. Everyone couldn't hold back any longer.
An eighteen or nineteen-year-old tall, yellow-faced man sat down on the table while talking: "What do you think, could it be that the emperor forgot about us and went back to sleep with the queen?"
"How dare you!" Cheng Zongyu, who had just let these men clamor without saying a word, suddenly opened his eyes. His sharp gaze frightened the yellow-faced man so much that he shrank his whole body and immediately rolled off the table at lightning speed.
He hadn't finished rolling down yet. Under the pressure of Cheng Zongyu's eyes, he simply continued to slide down and crawled directly under the table.
"Hahaha, Zhang Xianzhong, I didn't expect you to be such a coward!"
"Li Hongji, stop talking nonsense. When you came here this morning, you fought with Master Cheng, but what happened? You couldn't even hold your own!"
"Humph, I can't beat Master Cheng, but I can still beat you!"
"Hey! How dare you say that, you coward? Come on, let's have a good fight."
"Okay, okay, stop making trouble!" Two men in their thirties stood up and held one of them. Then one of them, who looked honest and simple, said, "Master Cheng, we are rough people and don't know the rules. Huang Huzi said something wrong just now, and we should be punished. However, although this idiot's words are very rough, we are also wondering if the emperor has forgotten us."
Cheng Zongyou glanced at the man who was speaking and said, "I will definitely do what the emperor has arranged. Sit down honestly!"
Just as the black-faced man was about to say a few more words, he heard a duck-like voice outside the door: "The Emperor has arrived."
As soon as this voice came out, the men who were restless just now quickly sat down in their seats and began to tidy up their clothes. But when they looked up, they saw Cheng Zongyou, who had been sitting for a long time, stood up and made a respectful gesture towards the door of the room. So they hurriedly jumped up from their chairs and began to imitate Cheng Zongyou and make similar gestures.
The door opened, and after a hearty laugh, a young man in his twenties, about 1.8 meters tall, wearing a purple dragon robe walked in. Behind him, there was a strong man with bulging temples, who looked like a master. And a young general in military uniform, with two general stars on each shoulder.
Is this the emperor? He really has an extraordinary aura. When Zhu Youdong passed by them, they couldn't help but swallow a lot of saliva.
"Okay, everyone sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." After saying this, Cheng Zongyou sat down leisurely. Tian Ergeng and Li Chunzhong, who followed Zhu Youdong in, also sat down naturally. However, the men who were very active just now looked at each other, and finally bent down carefully and gently put a little bit of their buttocks on the edge of the chair.
"Hmm..." Glancing at the men below, Zhu Youdong smiled and raised a finger: "Are you Wang Jiayin?"
The black-faced man who was pointed at heard the voice, raised his head slightly and glanced at Zhu Youdong's finger with the corner of his eye. After confirming that the finger was pointing at himself, he immediately jumped up, and then his knee hit the bottom of the table hard, making a loud noise.
But the man didn't dare to shout, he just lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, I'm not Wang Jiayin, um, oh, I'm Gao Yingxiang."
"Oh~" Zhu Youdong nodded and turned to another man who looked to be in his thirties: "Then you are Wang Jiayin?"
"Your Majesty, um, no no, I am Wang Jiayin."
"Yes. Sit down. Also, don't be too nervous. Just sit down properly when I ask you to. Don't leave your butt hanging in the air. That's very uncomfortable."
As soon as the emperor said this, these men all breathed a sigh of relief. However, whether it was to breathe out or to sit down peacefully, all of them buried their heads in their chests.
Then Zhu Youdong turned to a man who was also in his thirties but completely bald: "Are you Wang Ziyong?"
"The common people are the king's own use."
"Well, then you are Zhang Xianzhong? You are Li Hongji? You are Luo Rucai?"
Zhu Youdong called them one by one, and everyone stood up and answered in fear. The only difference was that Zhang Xianzhong was now a constable in Yan'an Prefecture, so he called himself a minor official. And Li Hongji? Because the people's livelihood in Shaanxi was much better than in this plane due to Yuan Yingtai's major water conservancy repairs and the effect of Huguang tea no longer entering Shaanxi. So he did not become a postman, and was still a farmer at this time, so he could only call himself a commoner.
Looking at these guys who were as obedient as a group of quails, Zhu Youdong couldn't help but sigh in his heart: It's a pity that his sixth brother Zhu Youjian is now serving as an anti-corruption envoy in Huai'an Prefecture and can't be called back for the time being. Otherwise, it would be a kind of evil fun to let him stand here and watch how honest these guys are .
After calming down, he took another look at the six sturdy men who were as shy as young wives. Zhu Youdong chuckled and said, "Master Cheng, have you tried the skills of these six guys?"
"Your Majesty, I have tried them all. Gao Yingxiang's martial arts skills are pretty good, and his archery skills can be considered excellent. Zhang Xianzhong's horsemanship is also passable, but the others are not worth mentioning."
"Hahaha, it seems quite remarkable that Master Cheng can say that it is good. Er Geng, do you think these guys are worth improving?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know how you found these guys. In my opinion, although these guys are not good-looking, they are all amazing. If they are trained well... well, they are old after all, and their potential is limited. However, as long as they are trained properly, there is no problem that their combat power will be better than that of ordinary small flags and general flags."
"Very good." After knocking on the table twice, Zhu Youdong said loudly: "You six, raise your heads."
The six men obediently raised their heads from their chests, their faces filled with fear, confusion and even uneasiness.
"Perhaps you are also wondering why I suddenly asked the Shaanxi Provincial Government to find the six of you and send you all to Beijing. Not only are you wondering, many of my officials are also wondering. Now I am here to tell you that I called you here because I have an important task for you to do!"
The six men looked at each other for a while, and the leader, Wang Jiayin, spoke tremblingly: "I wonder if the emperor wants us to kill? But no matter whether it is killing, as the emperor's subjects, we must do our best to do it for the emperor."
" You will train in Beijing for a year. For personal martial arts, Jinyiwei will find teachers for you, and Master Cheng will also give you some pointers when he is free. For military affairs, you will mainly follow this person." Zhu Youdong pointed at Li Chunzhong and said, "Learn from him. Although General Li has been stationed in Beijing for a long time as the commander of the Imperial Guard Division, I have actually been asking him to do research on guerrilla warfare over the years. There is a regiment in the Imperial Guard Division that is specifically used to practice guerrilla warfare."
"After this year's training, those who fail to meet the requirements will be kicked out and go back to farming. For those who meet the requirements, I will give each of your families 300 silver dollars as resettlement allowance, and then your lives will belong to me. At that time, I will send you to America!"
"America?" After all, Zhang Xianzhong had studied for a few years and worked as a detective, so he still had to read the Chang'an Daily: "Your Majesty, isn't that a Spanish colony?"
"That's right. The Spanish have evil ambitions. In addition to selling drugs to our Ming Dynasty and harming our people, they have recently launched a war of annihilation against our allies. Not only that, they have also established vast colonies in the Americas, and cruelly ruled the indigenous people there who are also yellow people and descendants of the Shang Dynasty. All of the above is simply the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, and it is intolerable! Therefore, I have decided to send you to America to fight guerrilla warfare and encourage the descendants of the Shang Dynasty there to rise up against the colonial rule of Spain."
"..." The six men looked at each other, all in a daze: How come this job, which sounds so difficult, suddenly fell upon us?
"Before you, I have sent back two native Indians who have studied in my Ming Dynasty for many years. After you finish your studies and assessments, you will also go there. Ladies and gentlemen, if you don't have this opportunity, you will be confined to northern Shaanxi for almost your entire lives, and will end up living in obscurity. If you seize this opportunity, not only will you be able to travel freely in the vast Americas, but you will also leave your name in history... In short, in my opinion, if you don't seize this opportunity, wouldn't it be a pity?"
Looking at the six men who were beginning to get a little excited, Zhu Youdong laughed happily: "It's too late today, so I'll just say this much for now. In the days to come, you will slowly understand how much you will gain if you do this well. Okay, later the eunuchs will take you out of the palace to find a place to rest. Starting tomorrow, Tian Ergeng and Li Chunzhong, you will be responsible for the specific arrangements."
"I accept your order and respectfully send your Majesty off."
"Well, that's it." After standing up and walking two steps out of the room, Zhu Youdong suddenly turned his head and said, "Oh, by the way, Li Hongji, I'm not used to your current name. Let's change it to Li Zicheng, hahaha~"
