Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 262 Riding a horse and walking with a sword in the palace!
The 41st year of Jiajing, April, 15th.

With the blessing of the heavenly officials, there are no taboos.

The Northern Expedition Commander-in-Chief Wang Chonggu returned triumphantly with his army and the surrendered ministers of the Eastern and Northern Tartars.

The regulations on sedan chairs and horses within the Nine Gates of the capital were extremely strict, especially on the main streets. Officials other than those of high rank were not allowed to ride in sedan chairs with more than four bearers, except for the Five Cities Military Affairs Office and the Imperial Censors who patrolled the streets. Even if they had horses, they were not allowed to ride and could only be led.

But there are exceptions. Today, no carriages, horses, or sedan chairs are allowed to pass within five miles inside or outside the Deshengmen Gate.

Even the chief minister of the cabinet and the ministers of the six ministries and nine departments could only walk to Deshengmen and go up to the tower to watch the ceremony.

There is a checkpoint almost every half a mile. No matter who you are, you must undergo a body search. If you dare to move, the crossbows next to the checkpoint will shoot you.

This is true for the cabinet ministers, ministers, chief and deputy ministers, not to mention the governors and provincial governors, who can only walk on their two legs even if they feel discomfort in the lower back of their bodies.

The governors and governors-general of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou had to travel long distances and run non-stop, so their injuries were more serious than those of the governors and governors-general in the inland areas. After arriving, they had no time to rest and had to watch the ceremony after applying medicine.

Even though medicine was applied, the torn skin became more severe as he walked, and blood flowed down his legs from time to time.

But among these governors and governors-general with strange ways of walking, the Governor of Yunnan, Xu Guo, was an exception. He travelled more than 6,000 miles from the capital to Yunnan, but perhaps because of his excellent riding skills, his strong physique or some other reason, he did not have any injuries on his body, not even tiredness. He walked with vigorous steps, passing one governor-general and governor-general after another, and walked with the ministers of the six ministries and nine government departments, chatting and laughing, looking relaxed and natural.

The four elders of the cabinet walked in the front, followed by the ministers of Xu State and the six ministries and nine officials, then the governors of the provinces, and walking at the end to watch the ceremony were the envoys of the fifteen unconquered countries.

The Emperor Taizu Gao originally planned to list fifteen countries that would not be conquered, but the Kingdom of Annan, located in the Indochina Peninsula, destroyed the Kingdom of Champa, so the number of countries that would not be conquered should have been one less.

However, Zhu Zaizhen, the King Jing of the Ming Dynasty, went to the former site of Champa and helped the indigenous people of Champa to restore their country.

The thousand well-trained and armored elite soldiers led by King Jing were a dimensionality reduction attack in that monkey-infested place. The puppet Champa king supported by King Jing and the revived Champa Kingdom have recovered three-tenths of their homeland.

Forty-first year into the Jiajing reign, the entire Indochina Peninsula was full of vitality and everything was flourishing. Champa was recovering its homeland, Annan was suppressing the rebellion of Champa, and King Jing took the opportunity to stab Annan in the back.

The bloodshed in Indochina continues.

The national situation had been deteriorating for so long that no matter how stupid the Annan Kingdom was, it still found out about the existence of King Jing and the Ming army of a thousand people.

Therefore, after arriving in the capital, the envoy of Annan immediately submitted a letter of protest to the cabinet, demanding that the Ming court immediately expel the so-called envoy of Champa, withdraw its troops from the Indochina Peninsula, execute King Jing, compensate Annan for the losses incurred in suppressing the Champa rebellion, and allow Annan to purchase various items from the Ming Dynasty, not limited to powerful lethal weapons such as bows, crossbows, and firearms.

After seeing the dreamlike letter from the Kingdom of Annan in the cabinet, the honest and sincere Deputy Prime Minister Gao Gong could no longer hold back his excitement. The two cabinet ministers Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang were also unable to hold back their excitement. They looked at the envoy of Annan with amusement in their eyes.

Only the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng managed to hold on. He "politely" called the commander of the cabinet guards, pointed at the envoy of Annan, and asked the guards to throw the man out.

Then he asked the new cabinet secretary Shen Yikuan to put up a sign in front of the cabinet door, "Annanites and monkeys are not allowed to enter."

Outside the cabinet, the envoy of Annan roared for a long time, threatening to declare war on the Ming Dynasty, but after howling for a long time, no one paid any attention to him, and he ran back to the Sifang Inn in shame.

Today, with such a good opportunity to observe the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Annan is more active than anyone else.

Among the envoys from various countries that came to the Ming Dynasty, there was one country that presented a letter of protest to the Ming Dynasty: Japan.

The Muromachi shogunate of Japan, also known as the Ashikaga shogunate, was already in name only after more than two hundred years of development.

Japan is divided into East and West. East Japan is controlled by two daimyo, Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin. The two families are fighting frequently. The two families have fought four major wars in the past eight years. According to the intelligence of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the winner is about to be decided.

In Western Japan, after the Mori clan destroyed the Ouchi clan, and the puppet Amago clan supported by the Jinyiwei destroyed the Mori clan, the Amago clan became the undisputed overlord.

Jinyiwei is also the father of the overlord of Western Japan.

The representative of the Muromachi shogunate, the Japanese envoy, protested against the Ming Dynasty's interference in Japan's state affairs and illegal collection of Japan's gold and silver mines.

No one in Japan cared about this, and no one in the Ming Dynasty cared about it either. They just added a sign in front of the cabinet door saying, "Japanese people and dogs are not allowed to enter."

That’s right, in addition to discovering the large silver mine of Iwami Ginzan in Western Japan, the Jinyiwei also discovered a large gold mine.

In Japan, there is a gold mine called "Sado Gold Mine".

When the gold mine was discovered, a small incident occurred. There was a family called "Matsudaira" on Sado Island who were determined to defend the gold mine to the death.

The Jinyiwei didn't even take any action, and the puppet Niwa clan uprooted the Matsudaira clan to show their loyalty.

From such a big family, only a young boy ran away. His name seemed to be "Ieyasu", which was not a very auspicious name. The entire Matsudaira family was gone.

After the young man ran to East Japan, he was very ruthless. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind... to change his surname.

It was changed from "Matsudaira Ieyasu" to "Tokugawa Ieyasu". The dead are dead, and the living must live to fight against the Ming Dynasty. Tokugawa Ieyasu thought that the Matsudaira family should be destroyed.

The Sado Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine are both extremely rich in mineral reserves. The Jinyiwei in Japan are always supervising the Amago clan, who are forcing the Western Japanese to dig in the mines like cattle and horses, and they are unable to free up their hands to interfere in the affairs of the Eastern Japan for the time being.

It is said that the Jinyiwei has formulated a plan to control the Eastern Japan and will send new personnel to the Eastern Japan. In addition, the Jinyiwei has also manufactured a batch of new weapons for testing.

Obviously, East Wo is the destined place.

A large amount of gold and silver was transported from Japan to Haikou, Laizhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty, and then from Haikou to the capital.

With so many gold and silver reserves, the cabinet formulated an ocean-going plan to officially open up the "exchange" between the East and the West in the world.

War is too far away, and economic plunder is a good way to reap the world.

After the lessons of Annan and Japan, envoys from other countries dared not jump around anymore and instead wandered around the bustling streets of the capital, shopping like crazy.

Since the tribute was stopped, the other countries had no chance to obtain the treasures of the superior country except through smuggling. Most of the envoys who were invited to watch the ceremony had a mission, which was to use up the carts of gold and honeysuckle they brought with them and buy goods from the Ming Dynasty to take back.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard closely monitored what the envoys of various countries bought. The envoys of other countries did not receive much attention, but the Goryeo Kingdom bought many books from the Ming Dynasty, covering all aspects, and its ambition was not small.

But the Ming Dynasty was not the Tang Dynasty. For the sake of the so-called title of the Celestial Empire, it allowed other countries to take away this knowledge from China at almost zero cost.

The Imperial Guard prepared a fire, which was set when Goryeo was about to leave the Ming Dynasty. Any items that were not suitable to leave the Ming Dynasty would disappear in some way.

The road was five miles long and had ten checkpoints. It took everyone nearly two hours from before dawn to dawn before they finally reached the top of the Deshengmen tower and stood in line according to their status.

In order to facilitate viewing of the ceremony, officials from the Ministry of Rites thoughtfully prepared a telescope so that they could observe the details in the rolling smoke and dust.

Coming from afar was the Northern Expedition Marshal Wang Chonggu, riding a tall horse, and on his left and right were the former Eastern Tartar Khan Dalaisun and the former Northern Tartar Prince Senggelinqin.

Behind Wang Chonggu were the generals of the Ming Dynasty who led the northern expedition. Behind Sun and Senggelinqin were the leaders of the former Eastern Tartar tribes and the former Northern Tartar tribes.

After discussion, these grassland nobles were allowed to live in the capital. Except when obeying the imperial edict, they were not allowed to leave the capital without permission. The imperial court guaranteed that they would enjoy endless wealth and glory for three generations.

The prerequisite is that you are not allowed to do evil in the capital. Once you commit a crime, you will be punished the same as the common people.

The flags were unfurled and the army returned triumphantly.

Ordinary soldiers were not allowed to enter the capital city. On this five-mile straight road, soldiers gradually left the parade team and stood on both sides of the road.

By the time they reached Deshengmen, only Wang Chonggu, the generals who had gone on the northern expedition, and the tribal leaders of the former Eastern Tartar and the former Northern Tartar were left.

Huang Jin, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department and the governor of the Eastern Depot, walked out of the city gate, followed by the eunuch who issued the imperial edict. Huang Jin looked at Wang Chonggu and said with a smile, "The Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition accepts the order!"

Wang Chonggu immediately dismounted, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands together, and lowered his head.

The generals who went on the northern expedition also followed the orders of the Grand Marshal.

There is little etiquette on the grassland, but before entering the capital, Sun and Senggelinqin each gave orders to their subordinates to learn how to salute like the officers in the Central Plains.

As surrendered ministers, Sun and Senggelinqin knelt down on their knees to show their loyalty.

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, hereby proclaims: Grant the Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition a horse in the palace and a sword to walk with, to show his power. I decree this!"

Huang Jin read out the imperial edict. The people from the East Depot were more or less skilled in martial arts. Even the eunuchs were full of energy when reading out the imperial edict, and their voices were as loud as gold and jade, and the resonance could be heard from far away.

Everyone on the forty-foot-high city gate tower heard it and were shocked.

With such an honor, he can be said to be the first person in the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Jin closed the imperial edict and saw Wang Chonggu standing there in a daze. He said softly, "Grand Marshal, why don't you thank me?"

Wang Chonggu also knelt down with his other leg and kowtowed, saying, "Wang Chonggu kowtows to thank the emperor for his great grace!"

After receiving the imperial edict, Huang Jin stepped forward on behalf of the emperor to help Wang Chonggu up and mount the horse. Wang Chonggu refused several times, but finally got on the horse and, led by Huang Jin, slowly entered the Desheng city gate.

The generals who went on the northern expedition, the surrendered officials of the Eastern and Northern Tartars stopped in front of Desheng Gate, called their subordinates together, and performed martial arts exercises in front of the city gate.

The Elite Troops of the Northern Expedition, the Elite Troops of the Eastern Tartars, and the Elite Troops of the Northern Tartars took turns to appear on the stage. Then, the Elite Troops of the Northern Expedition demonstrated how the infantry could kill the Elite Troops of the Northern Tartars when they were at a disadvantage. The Elite Troops of the Eastern Tartars and the Elite Troops of the Northern Tartars demonstrated how the cavalry could attack each other under equal circumstances. Finally, the Elite Troops of the Northern Expedition and the Elite Troops of the Eastern Tartars jointly demonstrated how the infantry and cavalry cooperated to encircle and kill the Elite Troops of the Northern Tartars cavalry.

In the three large-scale military exercises, the Northern Tartar cavalry always played the role of the losing side. Senggelinqin, the second King of Shunyi of the Ming Dynasty, was very helpless, because the Northern Tartar surrendered late.

Wooden swords and wooden spears replaced the real ones, and the three parties attacked and killed with all their might, even after the battle was dragged into the ground, the swords had bent blades, the spears had broken tips, and the flesh-and-flesh fighting not only demonstrated the strong physical fitness of the elite troops of the Northern Expedition, the Eastern Tartars, and the Northern Tartars, but also demonstrated the tenacious will of the elite troops of the three parties, which made the court officials, local governors, and envoys from various countries on the city gate tower excited.

But the generals who went on the northern expedition, Da Laisun, and Senggelinqin curled their lips silently, because the real battlefield was completely different.

On the grassland, the Northern Expedition Army continued to advance forward, calling on Sun's cavalry to pursue the remnants of the Northern Tartar Army and prevent sneak attacks. In such freezing cold weather with knee-deep snow, the Northern Tartar Cavalry could not display any combat effectiveness at all, and it was good enough if they could perform at 20% out of 10.

As a result, the northern expeditionary army and the cavalry of Sun's army advanced forward, and the northern barbarian tribes either fled or surrendered, and the vast majority of them surrendered.

It's not that there was no resistance, but unlike this close combat, Wang Chonggu ordered the army to cover the ground with bows and crossbow arrows.

Using his own advantage to slaughter the Northern Tartar rebels, for the sake of his own army's safety and to prevent the Northern Tartar rebels who pretended to be dead from making a desperate counterattack, Wang Chonggu issued an order when cleaning the battlefield after the war, regardless of whether the fallen person was dead or alive, to give him two more kills first.

Those who surrender will be safe, and those who do not will die.

This is one of the secrets of the Northern Expedition Army's invincibility in attacking Sun's cavalry.

In this era, hand-to-hand combat and melee fighting almost no longer exist, and extremely lethal weapons such as crossbows and firearms dominate the battlefield.

Only those civil servants who knew nothing about military affairs and those uncivilized barbarians and envoys from various countries still thought that the war was still so primitive.

Not everyone on the city gate tower was unaware of what war looked like. For example, there was Hu Zongxian, who had served as governor-general in the southeast and had destroyed the Ryukyu Islands occupied by Japanese pirates with artillery fire weighing tens of millions of pounds; there was Xu Guo, the governor of Yunnan, who had made great contributions in suppressing the rebellions in the Jinchuan area of ​​Yunnan in the southwestern border; and there was the Japanese envoy, who had witnessed the insidiousness and viciousness of the widow mines.

In their eyes, this kind of martial arts performance seemed like a trick.

However, sensing the excitement and strange frowns of their colleagues, and hearing the words "vulgar warriors" constantly ringing in their ears, Hu Zongxian and Xu Guo no longer had any thoughts of explaining.

It would take a long time for the situation in the Ming Dynasty where literati looked down on military men to change.

The Japanese envoy smiled sinisterly as he listened to the Annan envoy next to him shouting things like "the superior country's army is nothing special" and "declare war, declare war, declare war".

The viciousness of the widow mine should not only be experienced by the Japanese, the people of Annam should also have a taste of it.

The martial arts performance came to an end with everyone having different thoughts.

The will came down.

His Majesty will give a banquet in Wanshou Palace and Yongshou Palace, and anyone who wants to watch the ceremony can go.

It was not a mandatory imperial decree. The Yongshou and Wanshou Palaces had not yet been moved. Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the cabinet, who faintly smelled blood, was about to return home on the grounds of illness, but was stopped by Hai Rui.

"Yuan Fu, please!"

(End of this chapter)