Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 307: Anyone who offends the Han family must be punished, no matter how far away they are!

"Thanks for your hard work!"

Wang Chonggu praised Ding Qirui from the bottom of his heart and said, "From now on, all affairs in the Strait of Malacca and the South Asian subcontinent will be taken over by me. You don't have to be in a state of panic all day long, nor do you have to run around for war. You don't have to wear armor, and you can return to the court in plain clothes. The emperor will surely show you grace."

When the treasure fleet arrived at the port of Goa, the "ransom" warship escorted by the Portuguese Navy also arrived near the port of Goa. As it had not yet obtained permission to enter the port, it was still floating on the sea about 20 miles away.

The place was originally guarded by naval warships, but after the treasure ship fleet arrived, they took over the guarding power.

But the Jinyiwei had already delivered the message and looted the wealth of the European continent. There was no interception or sinking during shipping, and the key link of the "Tulip Plan" was perfectly completed.

The remaining thing is to return the more than 15,000 Portuguese prisoners of war to the Portuguese Navy and complete the nominal "ransom mission". This matter will be resolved by the treasure ship fleet and has nothing to do with the navy or Ding Qirui.

As the acting commander of the navy, Ding Qirui completed all the missions, and the two ports of Goa and Daman and Diu were not lost. He also established contact with the Portuguese navy.

Regardless of the means used, the performances of Ding Qirui, Yang He and Chen Qiuyu are remarkable. No matter how many mistakes they made in the past, these merits are enough to make up for them.

In other words, Ding, Yang, Chen and other naval officers can return to the court alive. As for how their merits and demerits will be evaluated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Dali Temple, the military Ministry of Justice, the military Inspectorate, the military Dali Temple and other departments after returning to the court, that depends on how great their personal contributions are in this voyage to the west for the country.

In Wang Chonggu's opinion, the fate of the naval officers was mostly to receive rewards such as gold and silver, be dismissed and return home, and never be employed again.

This is why Wang Chonggu asked Ding Qirui and other naval officers to take off their armor and return to the court in plain clothes.

This will show the emperor, the cabinet, the court, and the people that there is no threat.

Although it's not very decent, at least I survived.

Faced with Wang Chonggu's good intentions, Ding Qirui shook his head and refused: "Lord, I want to stay here."

Mature major countries all attach great importance to "stability", so maintaining stability is the top priority for major countries.

In maintaining stability, "collective responsibility" is a very important aspect.

If one person makes a mistake, his family or beneficiaries will pay the price for it, which is called collective punishment.

With the rise of the Ming Dynasty, Yuxi Palace and the Cabinet introduced and formulated a series of new regulations. One of them was that if someone committed a crime against the state or violated the law, his grandfather, father, son, and grandson for three generations would not be allowed to serve in the government or join the army.

He and the naval officers could return to the court alive, but they would definitely not pass the joint review of the Jinyiwei, the Eastern Depot, the three judicial departments of the court, and the three judicial departments of the military.

Just as Wang Chonggu thought, he and the naval officers might be rewarded with gold, silver and other things, and then kicked out of the army. Rewards and punishments go hand in hand. In terms of rewards, the court and the military will record the merits, and in terms of punishments, the court and the military will also record the sins.

Not to mention their fathers and grandfathers, most of their descendants are young, with passion in their hearts and a strong desire to achieve success.

As fathers and grandfathers, they cannot be so selfish, because if they want to stay alive, they will block all the ways out for their children and grandchildren.

Moreover, the dynasty was at a time of vigorous development with opportunities everywhere. If we had missed two generations and decades of time, we would have probably drunk up all the soup, not to mention the meat.

Rather than living in vain for a few more years, a dozen years, or even decades, Ding Qirui, Yang He, and Chen Qiuyu all believed that it would be better to die here, like the former navy commander Xiong Wencan, to be posthumously awarded the title of marquis, buried with a state burial, and to go down in history.

Xiong Wencan's eldest son, Xiong Yuehui, was therefore appointed as the Censor of the Military Department.

Living is obviously worse than being dead.

Wang Chonggu's eyes were fixed on Ding Qirui, and Ding Qirui did not avoid it at all. Although Ding Qirui was mentally and physically overwhelmed by the frequent meals and few worries, his eyes were unfocused and it was difficult for him to concentrate, but Wang Chonggu still saw calmness and a hint of relief in him.

"What do you want to do by staying here?" Wang Chonggu asked.

Ding Qirui had not smiled since Xiong Wencan's death. When he heard the elder's approval, he wanted to smile, but he forgot how to smile. His mouth moved upwards, like laughing, but also like crying. He said in a hoarse voice, "With the elder's arrival, our dynasty's counterattack against the Mughal Empire will begin. I think the elder is still short of a vanguard battalion, and I want to go there."

Pioneer Camp.

You might as well call it a death camp.

The return of the treasure ships and the transformation of firearms made it the first navy in the true sense of the Ming Dynasty and also the first treasure ship fleet. During training, Wang Chonggu combined various advantages to make naval battles, beach landings, and even in-depth operations very different from traditional naval battles.

In the treasure ship fleet, the death squad camp no longer existed and had no place, and long-range firearms combat methods were less common or hand-to-hand combat was avoided.

The changes in the national system and the military system meant that there were no more people being exiled to the army in the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty army no longer had a death squad. All the soldiers were cherished by the Ming Dynasty.

But naval officers like Ding Qirui exude stubbornness and corruption, believing that future wars will be the same as past wars.

The reason why Wang Chonggu personally went to Jiangnan to form a navy and recruit soldiers, and gave up the navy, was one reason was the serious corruption within the navy, and the other was that these people were too stubborn.

However, Wang Chonggu did not tell Ding Qirui about this. Without people like Ding Qirui, the southeastern coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty would have collapsed long ago. Time is passing, but these people cannot keep up.

These people were once "gods" in the eyes of countless countries, such as the eunuch Zheng He. When the sun sets, the "god" also goes down the mountain.

The treasure ship fleet is the people who go up the mountain, and they will not mock the gods who come down the mountain.

"Li Xi, give him a pistol!" Wang Chonggu ordered.

Standing beside the elder all the time, looking at his old comrades, old colleagues, and old comrades who once served under the command of Minister Hu Zongxian and General Qi Jiguang, Li Xi was filled with emotion and handed him his short musket.

This is also a new firearm developed by the Jinyiwei. It does not require a fuse, is small in size, can fire continuously, and can be carried with you.

The Jinyiwei called it "hand cannon".

In order to prevent accidental discharges, the master craftsmen even added a "safety". The user had to turn on the safety before pulling the trigger to fire the steel ball and gunpowder.

Under Li Xi's instruction, Ding Qirui shot several steel balls and gunpowder at the target. Compared with the traditional musket, the significantly improved accuracy and number of attacks made Ding Qirui look complicated.

This kind of musket was not made overnight. Ding Qirui still remembers that when he went out to sea, Xiong Wencan was still asking about new firearms, but the response he got was that there were none.

Ding Qirui was silent for a moment, returned the pistol to Li Xi, patted the sword at his waist, and said indifferently: "I'm still used to using this!"

Li Xi looked at Wang Chonggu, who shook his head. He knew that Ding Qirui had a grudge, but he did not force him. He ordered Li Xi to negotiate with the Portuguese navy for the return of prisoners of war, and at the same time issued an order to prepare the army for war.

Wang Chonggu looked in the direction of Delhi, the capital of the Mughal Empire, and said silently: "Whoever offends our Celestial Empire will be punished, no matter how far away they are!" The exchange of prisoners of war went very smoothly.

The Portuguese Navy took away more than 15,000 prisoners of war, boarded the ship, sailed, and returned, all in one go.

Thousands of "ransom ships" were handed over to the treasure ship fleet and then escorted back to the Ming Dynasty by naval warships.

A "vanguard battalion" of 5,000 men composed entirely of naval officers was established. There was obvious unrest when it was formed. After serving in the army for many years, everyone knew what a death squad was.

Not everyone is as considerate of their children and grandchildren as Ding Qirui is. There are also many people who believe that their children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Therefore, the officers and soldiers who are unwilling to die and want to leave blessings for their children and grandchildren want to stir up unrest, take back their troops and launch a rebellion.

No matter how Ding Qirui tried to persuade them, he could not stop these officers from fearing death. Before things became irreversible, Wang Chonggu and Li Xi took action.

The system of officers and personal guards was originally proposed and formulated by Wang Chonggu in the cabinet. All officers and soldiers sent from the court were required to, first, obey the emperor's will and, second, obey the orders of the cabinet ministers.

Wang Chonggu was here. At his command, the officers and guards who intended to rebel took action and captured all those officers.

There were a few people who were agile enough to escape from the guards and run away. Wang Chonggu and Li Xi took out their pistols, turned on the safety, and shot the escapees from behind one by one.

The power of the hand cannon intimidated the "Officers Vanguard Battalion". They looked at this new firearm with respect and awe in their eyes.

Wang Chonggu put away his gun, looked at the captured naval officers, and said indifferently: "Anyone who intends to rebel and disrupt the morale of the army will be killed without mercy!"

The elder's order was issued.

The bodyguards did not hesitate at all and killed the officers they had once protected with their swords.

Ding Qirui wanted to persuade Wang Chonggu to show mercy and give these people a chance to sacrifice for the country, but Wang Chonggu just said lightly, "They have already been given a chance."

this opportunity.

In fact, it was not given to these officers, but to Ding Qirui.

The army is a collective.

As the acting commander of the navy, Ding Qirui's officers must obey any choice he makes, no matter if it is right or wrong. This is the true meaning of "obeying orders is one's duty."

When arriving at the port of Goa, Wang Chonggu gave Ding Qirui a chance to lead the naval officers and soldiers to return to the court in plain clothes. Ding Qirui's refusal also represented the refusal of the naval officers and soldiers.

From that moment on, the Vanguard Battalion of Officers and Soldiers became the last battalion of death warriors of the Ming Dynasty.

According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, members of the Death Squad must either walk out of the battlefield alive or die on the battlefield. Anyone who escapes will be severely punished.

Not only will he be beheaded by the supervising officer, but even his family members will be implicated.

This is why Zhang Juyi, the younger brother of former Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng, would rather die in a snowstorm while getting lost than escape after being thrown into the death camp.

The officers and soldiers killed by him, Li Xi, and their personal guards were judged to be deserters in the face of battle. All their past military exploits would be wiped out, and the Jinyiwei, Dongchang, the three judicial departments of the imperial court, and the three judicial departments of the military would punish them severely for their corruption in the Ming Dynasty and their escape in Goa.

The imperial court and the military gave these people the opportunity to choose and were willing to provide a stage for them to die with dignity, but the mercy of the imperial court and the military was not unlimited.

Kindness does not command the army, and righteousness does not command wealth. It is nothing more than this.

Ding Qirui stood there in a daze, unable to come back to his senses for a long time. He never thought that his decision would lead to the destruction of thousands of naval officers.

Wang Chonggu patted Ding Qirui on the shoulder and said in a calm tone, "Return to the team!"

At this point, Ding Qirui doesn't need to think about anything anymore. He just needs to lead the vanguard battalion of officers and soldiers to clear the way for the naval soldiers of the treasure ship fleet. When he dies, that will be the end.

Ding Qirui returned to the camp in a daze. As the camp leader, after witnessing Wang Chonggu's ruthless command methods, the officers and vanguard camp completely quieted down. They faced the reality and accepted their fate.

The forest fire to the east had not been completely extinguished, and Wang Chonggu quickly planned a marching route to attack the Mughal Empire.

First, they headed north and captured the important cities of the Mughal Empire's Konkan state, including Satara, Pune, Mumbai, and Pasain, and arrived at the port of Daman, where they joined forces with the naval officers led by Yang He and Chen Qiuyu. Then they headed northeast and captured the Mughal Empire's Malwa state and Rajputana state, and finally the Mughal Empire's capital, Delhi.

During the march, the vanguard battalion of officers and soldiers rushed in the front, followed by 80,000 naval soldiers, and finally the 20,000 naval soldiers of the treasure ship fleet, forming the front, middle, and rear armies.

But unlike the traditional three armies where the central army is the most important, each of these three armies is stronger than the other.

Wang Chonggu issued an order to the three armies, stating that no matter whether they encountered attack or resistance, no matter whether they were Mughal civilians or Mughal troops, as long as they had an impact on the Ming army, they would be judged as enemies and killed.

Wang Chonggu reiterated that there were no women or children, old or young, on the battlefield, and any mercy would kill himself, his comrades, and even affect the court's strategy.

Everyone should think of themselves as a sharp knife. A knife is unintentional.

Wang Chonggu was not concerned about the concerns of Ding Qirui, Yang He and Chen Qiuyu that the killing of too many Ashes would have a negative impact on the soldiers' hearts.

Excessive killing and psychological trauma are things that doctors have to deal with after the war, not things that generals should worry about. As a general, you only need to complete the task.

Killing one person makes you a thief, killing ten people makes you a bandit, killing ten thousand people makes you a marquis.

In the South Asian subcontinent, the Ming Dynasty had deployed more than 100,000 navy and marines. If one person killed ten people, he could kill a million people; if one person killed a hundred people, he could kill ten million people; if one person killed a thousand people, he could kill 100 million people. Even if the Mughal Empire was destroyed, there would only be more than a thousand "marquises".

The Ming Dynasty could bear all kinds of causes and consequences and sins.

Under Wang Chonggu's command, the navy soldiers completely changed their appearance. Their high spirits soared to the sky, dispelling the gray haze above their heads, and they roared: "The sun, the moon, the mountains and the rivers will be forever!"

"The Ming Dynasty will last forever!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

(End of this chapter)