Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 753 Commander of the Western Army
Many times, or at least at a certain stage in their lives, famous Chinese poets are often frustrated in real life.
Du Fu's most productive period was when he was displaced after the An-Shi Rebellion. When Xin Qiji rode a horse and stabbed people with a knife in the occupied areas of the north, did he write any famous works? Even Yang Shen, the most talented scholar in the Ming Dynasty, had to be blackmailed by Emperor Jiajing for many years before he could write "East Flows the Yangtze River"?
Specifically speaking of Xia Wanchun, although the Ming Dynasty in this dimension still has powerful foreign enemies, it is too far away from the precarious situation, the destruction of the country, the fall of the family, and the collapse of culture. It is estimated that Xia Wanchun will never be able to write those generous and tragic, touching poems in this life.
So at the banquet that night, although Xia Wanchun, who was handsome and talented, performed well in front of the emperor, he was far from stunning. However, this did not affect Zhu Youdong's good mood. He readily agreed to Xia Wanchun's proposal to study at Fangshan Academy of Sciences after completing his studies at Nanjing Middle School.
After dinner, Zhu Youdong and his son took a boat across the Yangtze River that night, and then took a train back to Beijing in Jiangbei - since the emperor and the prince were leaving Beijing at the same time, the time could not be too long.
Amid the sound of clanging, Zhu Youdong half-lay on the soft sleeper and said to Zhu Ciyi, "How are your preparations for opening a government office going?"
"Father, I still want to transfer Yan Yingyuan back to be the Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Mansion."
"No." Looking at Zhu Ciyi who was hesitant to speak, Zhu Youdong said, "Yan Yingyuan's talent is enough for him to be a secretary. But he is also very important as the general committee member in America."
"Father, speaking of America, I saw a report from my uncle recently, saying that the Western bandits have increased their troops in America again? And they have also introduced a lot of new policies to win over the locals?"
"Of course. America is a colony exclusively owned by Spain. If we occupy it and don't take it back, not to mention the loss of precious metals and special resources such as rubber, coffee, and cocoa, it will be difficult to maintain his prestige within the European Union, so it is necessary to increase troops."
"Then Father, should we also send more troops to America?"
"Of course we need to increase the number of troops, but what I mean is that we should not increase the number of troops too much. On the one hand, although the national strength of our Ming Dynasty is strong, it is still limited. A large increase in troops will disperse our strength, which is not conducive to our established national policy of focusing on India. On the other hand, compared with India, there are too few people in America now, and the overall level of development is relatively low, and North America is even lower. We have taken South America, which is enough for the time being. I think Spain does not have enough time and funds to fully develop North America. Thirdly, the time for the Indians to be sinicized is too short, and the results have not been enough. If we uproot the Spaniards from America in one go, wouldn't it be a waste of money for the Indians? What if the Indians have no external enemies and their attitude towards us changes?
So, although Richelieu said that Philip had mobilized five Castilian divisions and ten German divisions, which would arrive in America one after another, the Ming Dynasty would send at most five divisions, and then replace the three divisions that were previously stationed in America to rest. Alas, the soldiers have been away from home for many years and have earned a lot of money, but what's the point of not letting them go home and get the honor they deserve in front of their families and fellow countrymen? "
"Father is right. There are at least four million Indians in South America, and most of them are young and strong. Arming two hundred thousand of them is not a problem at all. Let their men fight on the front line, and our soldiers can join the battle at the critical moment. There is no need to sacrifice too many lives of our Ming men for the Indians."
“Hahahaha, you’re right about that.”
"But father, what does this have to do with whether Yan Yingyuan returns to China? Oh, father, I know that the general committee member is responsible for the ideological work of our Ming soldiers in America, and more importantly, promoting the sinicization of the Indians. But these things can also be done very well by Chen Mingyu, Feng Houdun and others."
"Of course I know this, but although Chen and Feng are loyal, they are still far behind Yan Yingyuan in terms of organizational and coordination abilities."
Glancing at his still unconvinced son, Zhu Youdong smiled bitterly and said, "I am not Sun Quan. After establishing the crown prince, no matter how sorry I feel towards the queen and Ci Yan, I will not openly let the crown prince enjoy the same treatment as other princes like Sun Quan did, so as to give the officials the illusion that the crown prince position is still vacant... After you become the crown prince, Ci Yan must leave the country. Ci Yan himself has realized this. Some time ago, he took the initiative to find me and asked to be sent out."
"Is my second brother going to America?"
"He originally told me that he wanted to go to Africa. But..."
At this point, Zhu Youdong shook his head helplessly: Ci Yan still looked happy on the surface, but he must be unconvinced in his heart, thinking that his elder brother had ascended to the position of crown prince by virtue of his performance in America. Then he might as well go to Africa and completely disrupt the colonies of the EU countries. But what about those black uncles in Africa?
Didn't you see South Africa in later generations, when apartheid was implemented in the early years and it was ruled by white people? The entire country had rapid economic development, political stability , and good public security. It was the only developed country in Africa. When the white people were forced to end apartheid and hand over the power of the country to the black uncles under tremendous pressure from both home and abroad, the country's economy plummeted at a speed of a weight falling to the ground, and then corruption was rampant, public security was chaotic, and the total economic volume seemed to be the second in Africa, just one place down, but the per capita income dropped to the seventh in Africa. What's more terrifying is that except for a few powerful people who made a fortune, the vast majority of the black uncles who were in charge lived below the poverty line. Robberies were frequent, AIDS was rampant, nuclear weapons were gone, and even nuclear power plants were closed because of the departure of white elites...
Therefore, the black uncles were different from the Indians who had not yet been fully Latinized. They were difficult to lead and could not be led well. As a father, how could Zhu Youdong bear to push his son into the pit of fire that was destined to fail?
Besides, Zhu Youdong never had the idea of fighting the whole of Europe: just break up the EU and let the Spaniards hand over Philip. With this goal, there is really no need to poke Africa, the common colony of other countries in the EU except Spain.
"I rejected his idea of going to Africa. He will serve as your successor and go to America as the representative of the Ming imperial family and the general commissioner of the army. After serving as your deputy, Yan Yingyuan will continue to be his deputy."
Having said that, Zhu Ciyi completely understood.
Now, the commander of the Ming Dynasty in America is Lu Xiangsheng: he is the son-in-law, and the uncle of him and Zhu Ciyan. As for these two princes, since the emperor has already decided on the crown prince and has made arrangements with the princess in advance, Lu Xiangsheng's position is also clear. However, although he supports the emperor's decision and recognizes Zhu Ciyi's status as the crown prince, Ciyan is also his nephew, and it is probably difficult for him to treat Ciyan as a thief.
The main generals of the Ming army in America are Cao Bianjiao, Li Dingguo, Zhang Huangyan and others. The former was the chief guard when Zhu Ciyan was young, and the latter two were Zhu Ciyan's classmates. Emotionally, he is naturally close to Zhu Ciyan - there is no problem with this arrangement. After all, Zhu Ciyan is going to replace Zhu Ciyi as the general commissioner of America. Without his own team in the army, he can't do well as the general commissioner.
In this way, in order to prevent His Royal Highness Prince Song from doing anything strange in America, there must be a capable person who is absolutely loyal to Zhu Ciyi, has outstanding talents, and is deeply loved by the local people in America to stay there and stay by Zhu Ciyan's side - no one is more suitable than Yan Yingyuan, who was selected by Zhu Ciyi and is very capable in doing things.
"Have you figured it out?"
"Yes, I have figured it out. I am deeply moved by your painstaking efforts."
"Alas, it is said that the royal family is ruthless, but I am also a father. How can I really have no feelings for my sons? You are the crown prince, and it is not possible for Ci Yan, as the legitimate son, to stay in the country. Moreover, his future fiefdom is in South America, so it is reasonable for him to go there early to familiarize himself with the situation. But when he is in America, we need to arrange people to support him, and someone must watch over him..."
"Thank you for your hard work, father. I really... Although I know this is impossible, I still really want to go back to the time when Ci Yan and I were close as children."
"How is that possible? When people grow up, they always have conflicts of interest. Not to mention the position of crown prince? Well, don't be too sad. After returning to Beijing, meet two people with me, and then you take them to Xinjiang."
"Meet two people? Ah, I understand."
Due to the fact that engineering and materials science had not yet developed to a high level at that time, the Ming Dynasty could not easily build hundreds of bridges across the Yangtze River like the later Celestial Empire. Therefore, when the railways of the Ming Dynasty reached the Yangtze River, passengers either got off the train and took a boat to cross the river, or used train ferries to cross the river.
However, after arriving in Jiangbei and boarding the special train on the Liangjing Railway, the return trip was very fast: since it was the emperor's special train, there was no need to wait for or give way to other trains. So the whole journey took only 16 hours, which was much faster than the current speed of sea vessels.
So, in the evening of the next day, Zhu Youdong and his son appeared in the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
"Your servants, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"Generals , please take a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the four of them sat down, Zhu Youdong smiled slightly and said, "Did you have a good rest in the past six months since you came back? Are you satisfied with the manor given to you by the court?"
"I thank the emperor. In the past six months, in addition to accompanying my family in the manor given by the emperor in my hometown of Mizhi, I have also taken several brothers who have fought in America for many years to travel around. No matter where we go, as long as the other party sees the American Liberation Medal hanging on our chest, they all give us a thumbs up and praise us. Many businesses have waived various fees for us... I know that this is because the emperor has not forgotten our efforts in America, and has reported on us in newspapers and given us so many honors. I have always hoped to have the opportunity to express my gratitude to the emperor in person."
"Hahaha, Ci Yi, was this man holding a torch also so eloquent when facing the indigenous women in America?"
"Father, General Li is still very popular among the local soldiers and civilians in America. As for the girls there, uh, General Li brought four back to China, right?"
"Your Highness is very perceptive. I am ashamed."
"Hahaha, as long as we are willing, I don't care. What about you, who are good at speaking sweet words?"
"Your Majesty, I feel the same as Lao Li. In the past six months, I have been in my hometown of Yan'an. Wherever I go, I am respected and flattered... Oh, the former Overlord Xiang Yu said that if you don't return to your hometown when you are rich and powerful, it is like walking at night in brocade clothes... Although the Overlord's end was not very good. But he really expressed the thoughts of many ordinary people like me."
"Hahahaha~Okay, Zhang Xianzhong, this is your true nature. I like it very much."
"But Your Majesty, although I have lived a comfortable life for the past six months. But I, Old Zhang, uh, Your Majesty, please forgive me. Anyway, I am destined to work hard and I really can't stop. In the past six months, I have not smelled the smell of gunpowder, and my heart has always felt a little empty. And if I continue to be flattered like this, I estimate that in another year or two, I will be useless."
"Your Majesty, I feel the same way."
"It is said that one is born in adversity and dies in comfort. This is really a wise saying. Don't worry, I will not leave talents like you idle for too long. I called you here today to arrange things for you, didn't I? You and the prince have been in America for so many years, you are all familiar with each other, how about continuing to work under the prince?"
"That's a good relationship. We have been loyal to the prince for so many years in America. It is our blessing to continue to serve under the prince."
"Very good. Tomorrow, you will accompany the Crown Prince to Xinjiang. Once there, you will work closely with the local officials to familiarize yourself with the local conditions and customs as soon as possible. Three years later, I will give you twenty divisions and let you lead them to conquer Central Asia!
