Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 739: Post-War Arrangements in America
"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers, the royal army has won a great victory!"
"Newspaper seller, in December of the 24th year of Tianqi, the American governor Sun Chuanting led the royal army and the Indian volunteers to defeat the Western bandits in Bogota. The main force of the Western bandits in America was completely destroyed in one day, and the royal army arrived in South America!"
"Newspaper seller, our Ming Special Forces have descended from the sky to launch a surprise attack on Bogota. This one battle will decide the outcome!"
"Newspaper seller, our sniper's bullets never missed their target, and he took the head of the Spanish Crown Prince amidst the thousands of soldiers!"
In April of the 25th year of Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty (1643), the news of the great victory in America was reported back to China. Zhu Youdong asked Zhang Shize to direct the six major newspapers to carry out concentrated publicity. The whole country of Ming Dynasty was immediately excited. The little psychological pressure caused to the people of Ming Dynasty by the European coalition forces' invasion of Indochina in the previous two years was completely dissipated without a trace.
You see, our Great Ming is invincible! Some Western barbarians may be able to make a scene for a while. But as long as our Great Ming is serious, we will slap them in the face.
Along with the news of victory came Sun Chuanting, Zhu Ciyi and Cromwell.
On December 10, 1642, after receiving Sun Chuanting's letter of persuasion to surrender, Cromwell made a very straightforward decision: that night, he asked his Anglo-Saxon confidant to send Sun Chuanting a detailed map of the Western Army's deployment on the West Bart Line. Sun Chuanting used this as a basis to concentrate heavy troops to attack junction between divisions in the enemy's defense line... During the Ming army's offensive, Cromwell's command seemed extremely clumsy and even foolish, and he was always a few steps behind the Ming army in the deployment of troops... Then, the West Bart Line was completely breached on the 12th.
However, Philip always regarded the American colonies as Spain's forbidden fruit, so the troops he sent to America, except for a few troops composed of white people, Indo-European mixed-race people and black slaves born in America, were all pure Casti divisions. Therefore, although the defense line collapsed, the commanders of these divisions still tried their best to rescue the remaining troops... In short, in this Battle of Bogota, 210,000 Spanish troops participated in the battle, with a total of more than 70,000 deaths and nearly 80,000 captured. In the end, there were about 60,000 people who followed Raimondo to Medellin - on the surface, this seemed to be the strength of four divisions, but in fact, except for the two divisions led by Raimondo as the vanguard, the remaining more than 30,000 people did not leave any equipment at all.
"Your Majesty, this is roughly how the war in America went. After the Battle of Bogota, the New Granada Viceroyalty of the Western Bandits has been completely owned by our Ming Dynasty. And the Viceroyalty of La Plata on the southeast side of South America has completely lost its defense capabilities. Before I returned to the country, I sent Zhang Xianzhong to lead a troop back to the Pampas. The situation there can be determined by a single order.
In addition, the remaining troops of the Western bandits have retreated to Panama City after receiving support from the enemy navy. It is the narrowest part of the connection between South America and North America. The Western bandits occupy the strategic location and have the help of the navy. In addition, it is too far from Quito, and our army's land logistics cannot guarantee the advancement of more than 100,000 troops. Therefore, for a while, the main force of our army could not move north in full. However, before I returned to China, I asked Li Zicheng to lead troops to take Maracaibo and Caracas, and then build ports and ship repair factories in these two places... As long as our navy can gain control of the Caribbean Sea, it is natural for our army to break through Panama and enter North America..."
"Very good. Boya has worked hard in South America for more than seven years. I have already informed the cabinet that the title of Marquis has been arranged for you when you return this time. As for the new duties, I will discuss it with you after you have rested for a while. Now, my concubine has set up a family dinner in the backyard, and your family will be present. Go and see your family and your grandson who has not yet met."
"Yes, I thank the emperor for his kindness."
As a minister who is both civil and military, he must not stay in power for too long in a place far away from the center of the Ming Dynasty - if he really did so, it would be extremely irresponsible to the country and to the minister. Therefore, after the situation in America, mainly South America, was completely settled, Sun Chuanting rushed to the mainland in a hurry. Zhu Youdong also logically removed Sun Chuanting from his position as the commander-in-chief of the Americas - this was a tacit understanding between the wise monarch and his ministers.
Not only Sun Chuanting, but also Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who have been in South America for more than ten years, must be recalled now. However, the Privy Council of the Ming Dynasty is still looking for candidates to replace these two, and since South America has just been established, all commanders cannot be replaced at once. Therefore, Li and Zhang can still enjoy themselves in South America for a while.
After Sun Chuanting left, Zhu Youdong smiled and greeted a fat, big-eared British man with two big moles on his face: "How are you? Mr. Cromwell?"
"Oh, praise God, I didn't expect your Majesty to be so fluent in English?"
Well, I didn't want to either. But who made me pass the Level 6 exam for my degree certificate before I traveled through time? What if I met a department head who liked to give instructions in English after I started working? Fortunately, I started school early, so I still speak standard Oxford English. Compared with the weird American English that the kids behind me learned, it's much more advanced.
But speaking of it, in the 17th century, even in the historical plane, English was a language that was not ranked highly. In this plane, with Spain's dominance and its strong promotion of Latin throughout Europe, the status of English was unprecedentedly low. Therefore, in Beijing, far away from the British Isles, it was possible to hear such a pure Oxford accent. Cromwell couldn't help but be excited.
"Your Majesty, you can call me Oliver. Thank you for your kindness in allowing me to come to Beijing as a prisoner of war."
Yes, this Cromwell, although he was a bridegroom every night in America and had a lot of illegitimate children, but for the safety of his wife and children in England, he still modified Sun Chuanting's suggestion of surrender: Forget about public surrender, I don't want my wife and children to be killed. I will help you win this battle, and then go to Beijing as a prisoner of war to serve His Majesty the Emperor of China.
This means that he wanted to enjoy the benefits of surrender, but was unwilling to bear the side effects of surrender. In this respect, he was far worse than Wallenstein who was captured in the Isthmus of Kra in Southeast Asia: After being captured, the Duke did not say a word and quietly stayed in the prisoner-of-war camp for nearly half a year. Until his family came to rescue him with a ransom of 5,000 gold coins...
As for Cromwell, it is impossible for him to go back: as Sun Chuanting said, if he goes back, he will eventually become a scapegoat and be manipulated by petty clerks.
But he did not go back, and for the safety of his family, he could not surrender publicly. Therefore, he could only serve Zhu Youdong as a prisoner of war.
This choice is very Cromwellian.
In the historical plane, this person was already the de facto dictator of Britain, and a large group of people supported him to be the king. However, he was concerned about his reputation after death and refused to be the king. On the other hand, he was reluctant to give up his dictatorial power and resisted the establishment of a democratic constitutional government. Then he maintained his dictatorial rule until the end of his life with the strange title of "Lord Protector of the Nation".
This is a typical hypocrite who is selfish but also cares about his reputation. His shadow can be seen in many politicians in the British Isles in later generations.
"Oliver, I am fully aware of your concerns. Therefore, I will privately grant you the salary and allowance of a lieutenant general. In terms of duties, you will go to my Privy Council and be directly responsible to my two Privy Envoys. Accept their consultations and introduce them to the details of the European army. In addition, considering that you brought a large number of concubines and children from America, and all your estates in America have been confiscated, the economic burden is extremely heavy. Therefore, I will grant you another imperial estate as your financial subsidy."
"Thank you for your kindness and generosity, Your Majesty. I will serve you wholeheartedly."
"Go ahead and do your best. One day, you will become the savior of your country."
After Cromwell stepped down, Zhu Youdong finally turned his attention to his eldest son, Zhu Ciyi.
"Very good, my son is doing really well in America."
"I am delighted to receive your recognition."
"I have a few things I need your opinion on. The first one is the selection of the garrison commander for America."
"Before answering your question, I would like to ask you, what will be the future position of America for the Ming Dynasty? Will it be a vassal state under the control of the Ming Dynasty, or will it be a fiefdom of the Zhu family?"
"We should give the Indians a few countries, and we should also send some of our own relatives to be kings there. By the way, how many children does my distant relative Zhu Shengmiao have with the Indian queen?"
"Three boys and two girls. The oldest of the three boys is fifteen years old and the youngest is seven. There are two girls, the oldest is thirteen years old and the youngest is ten years old. "
"You are really fertile. So, first merge the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Viceroyalty of Granada to form the Great Inca Kingdom, and let Tia continue to be the queen. Then appoint the three boys as governors of the three viceroyalties of Peru, Colombia, and Venezuela, respectively, to prepare for the dismemberment of the Great Inca Kingdom in the future. Then, let Zhu Shengmiao betroth his eldest daughter to your third brother Ci Yan. I will make Ci Yan the King Ding, and let him establish a country based on the Viceroyalty of La Plata."
"The Pampas is a really nice place. Ci Yan will have a good life in the future. But father, you can't marry someone with the same surname?"
"Nonsense. In terms of blood relationship, Zhu Shengmiao and I are five generations apart. Besides, Zhu Shengmiao is just a concubine. What right does he have to let his children have the surname Zhu? How can this be related to the principle of not marrying people with the same surname?"
"Puff~" After not being able to hold back his laughter, Zhu Ciyi said, "Yes, I understand. But Father, this will happen at least ten years later, right?"
"Of course, we can't be too greedy in South America now. At this moment, we only want the gold, silver and various resources of America, and don't care too much about the reputation. We must not let the Indians have the mentality that if we drive away one invader, another will come. When we completely defeat the Spaniards, then we can divide America, and it won't matter. But now, let's settle this marriage first, bring the princess to Ming Dynasty, and let her accept our Ming Dynasty culture and education."
"I understand. Don't worry, father. In recent years, I have been working hard to promote Chinese in South America. The entire Indian army now issues orders in Chinese. After all, there are so many Indian tribes, and they don't speak the same language. If a group of people like them want to build a unified country, they have to use either Spanish or Chinese, otherwise the country cannot be maintained. And now, it is obvious that they can only choose Chinese as their official language."
"Well, you have been doing very well in this regard, and I am very pleased. Next, it is the selection of the garrison commander in America. This person has a heavy task. After all, he must quickly familiarize himself with the situation and firmly control the troops after he goes there. Because, after he is familiar with the situation, I will also transfer Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other guys back as soon as possible. In this way, the top leaders of the American army will be collectively replaced. Ci Yi, do you have any good candidates to recommend to me?"
