Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 320: Go to sea! Go to sea! The Heavenly Army of Justice!
"Great news! The new emperor has issued an order for the Ming Dynasty to go to sea!"

"The Ming army will march overseas and make all the nations submit to it."

"The imperial court has issued an order that all meritorious officials, wealthy merchants and gentry can invest their own money to form mercenaries and go out to sea to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty."

"Anyone who is willing to serve the Ming Dynasty can participate."

……

As the news was published in the Da Ming Daily, it immediately sparked public opinion both in the government and the opposition.

"Oh my god, is the court declaring war on all the barbarians at the same time?"

"What declaration of war? Didn't you read the original imperial edict published in the newspaper? We are going to educate them, to teach them the way of the saints, to let them know morality and propriety, to bid farewell to ignorance and backwardness, and to move towards civilization and prosperity. We are going to do good things, how can it be called a declaration of war?"

"Yes, yes, we are going to do good deeds. However, we have to get paid for doing good deeds. Otherwise, no one will be willing to do it in the future, and this is also against the way of saints."

"Of course. We go overseas to teach the barbarians, so that the four seas will return to their hearts and the whole world will be blessed by the Ming Dynasty. Then they should pay tribute to our Ming Dynasty."

"More than that, I think the most important thing is to hand over their land to our Ming Dynasty for development, and to trade with our Ming Dynasty, so that we can cooperate and achieve a win-win situation."

"That makes sense! I heard that the wild lands overseas are extremely backward and the people there live in poverty, but in fact the land is fertile and the products are abundant. If we give it to our Ming Dynasty to develop, it will surely develop rapidly and the people there will live a good life because of it!"

"The land is fertile and the products are abundant, but the people are suffering. That means the government there is not doing its job, oppressing and exploiting the people."

"That's right! Think about our Central Plains, what a prosperous and fertile place it is. But wasn't there refugees everywhere and starving people? It was only after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, especially after the reforms of the new emperor as the crown prince, that the people were able to have enough food!"

"Isn't it? In the rich lands overseas, there are treasures everywhere, but the common people can't get enough to eat. It must be that the local government is not doing its job."

"That's why the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent troops overseas to rescue the oppressed people there!"

"Our great Ming emperor is truly kind-hearted!"

……

People in Jinling City's major restaurants, teahouses, and even on the streets where the lower classes gathered to chat were discussing the matter.

The "Da Ming Daily" not only published the full text of Zhu Yunhuan's imperial edict, but also reported a large amount of overseas situations in a series of articles.

Of course, the main content is nothing more than two aspects.

One is to tell people how rich the resources are overseas, so as to attract people and tell them that if they want to get rich, they should go overseas.

The second is to tell the story of how low the living standards of the barbarian people overseas are and how miserable their lives are. This is to inspire the sense of justice among the people of the Ming Dynasty and make them have a strong desire to rescue the people overseas.

To put it bluntly, it is the dual temptation of interests and morality.

In this regard, the people of the Ming Dynasty, based on their own life experience, immediately concluded that the difficult lives of the overseas barbarian people must be the problem of the local rulers.

This judgment cannot be said to be wrong, on the contrary it is very accurate.

Most of the undeveloped barbarian lands are still in the tribal era.

The leaders of those tribes basically implemented "dark rule".

He does not treat the tribal people under his rule as human beings at all.

Using human heads for sacrifice or even killing people for fun were very common things.

Even in faraway Europe, it was still in the Dark Ages of the Middle Ages.

The church, king, nobles, and knights who ruled that land also did not treat the serfs below as human beings.

In this regard, the simple understanding of the people of the Ming Dynasty can only be said to be too correct!
"This is a good thing, and it is also a good deed. However, will it make my good sons of the Ming Dynasty die in a foreign land and be buried overseas?"

"That's true. In the past dynasties, in order to expand the territory, the emperors sent countless people to fight in the border areas. I don't know how much money and manpower were wasted, and how many people were buried in foreign lands. Will my Ming Dynasty follow this old path?"

"What are you thinking about? The imperial court is already reforming the military system. When they send troops overseas in the future, they won't conscript ordinary people like us."

"That's right, that's right. Now even the corvée service is provided with food and lodging by the imperial court. You want to go overseas with the imperial army, but you can't even sign up."

"The treatment in the new army is so good. I would wake up smiling even in my dreams if I could sign up to join the new army. Going out to fight is a great opportunity to make achievements and establish a career!"

"You still think that the people will be forcibly conscripted, but you don't know that it is all in the past. Times have changed now. If you want to sign up to join the army, they may not necessarily want you to."

"The weapons of the new army are very powerful now. Their muskets and cannons are simply incomparable to the swords, spears, and bows and arrows of the past. It is a piece of cake to attack a small country overseas. How can there be any major casualties?"

"Yes, when we went on the expedition to Japan, the new army returned intact. No one was missing. This kind of miracle, from ancient times to the present, can only be achieved by His Majesty the Emperor today."

When it comes to the new army, the people become even more excited.

On the day when the new emperor ascended the throne, he reviewed the new army. Many people witnessed the might and majesty of the new army with their own eyes and were impressed by its soaring momentum.

In their eyes, the Ming New Army is invincible.

Defeat in the war is, of course, impossible.

"But, you say, now that the imperial court allows meritorious officials and wealthy merchants to form their own armies, will this allow them to grow in power and become a hidden danger?"

"You have thought of this, but His Majesty the Emperor has already taken precautions."

"Yes, I have heard that any army formed by meritorious officials and wealthy merchants is limited to 500 people and has a very strict approval process.

"I know this! They have to pay a large deposit to get the imperial court's warships, muskets, cannons, and bullets. Each and every cannon has a number. If one is lost, there will be a severe punishment. In addition, all guns and cannons can only be carried on the ship. They are not allowed to be brought ashore within the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

"His Majesty the Emperor has always been strict in the management of guns and cannons. Not to mention ordinary people, even nobles and meritorious officials find it difficult to get a gun. Now that they are allowed to form an army, they are only allowed to go overseas. They are not allowed in the Ming Dynasty."

"Can those mercenaries compare with the new army? If they dare to cause trouble, your majesty's new army will suppress them immediately."

"Okay, stop discussing this. I heard that many nobles, wealthy businessmen and gentry are now recruiting people to form a mercenary army of 500 people. The rewards they offer are very high. Don't you want to give it a try?"

"If we join the mercenaries, we will have to take a ship to overseas, and the sea waves are dangerous..." Some people hesitated.

"Go, I'll go!" Someone shouted, "Since ancient times, wealth and honor have been sought through risk. If you want to get rich, you can't do it without taking any risks."

"When the late emperor was fighting for his kingdom, I was not yet born and therefore could not participate. My family was not granted a title of nobility as a result. But now I cannot miss such an opportunity." A young man in his early twenties said excitedly.

"Hahahaha, to go to overseas battles and be granted a title of nobility, it must be me." The other young men shouted.

"Go away, I am the future duke of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Those who really want to be rich have already quietly signed up. Only you who dare to talk but not to act are still talking here."

……

There were also scholars who spoke freely: "Money is something outside of one's body. Scholars like us regard money as dirt. I want to go overseas to spread the teachings of the saints and educate the barbarians."

"Brother, you have great ambitions, and you are worthy of being a man who has read many books of sages."

"The highest is to establish virtue, the next is to establish merit, and the next is to establish words. These are the three immortals. Going overseas to spread the teachings of the saints and educate hundreds of millions of barbarians is a great virtue and a great merit. Scholars should do the same!"

……

Under Zhu Yunhuan's strict supervision, the various departments of the Ming Dynasty court quickly approved the first batch of mercenary groups with extremely fast efficiency.

There were ten armies in total, each with 500 men.

After paying enough money, the court quickly distributed the warships, the guns and cannons on board, and a large amount of ammunition.

Today, the scale of the Ming Dynasty Military Factory has expanded many times, production efficiency has been continuously improved, and technological progress has been extremely rapid.

As soon as the first batch of guns were produced, technical plans for further improvement were proposed.

The same is true for ammunition.

In the original history, it took several hundred years for the firestick to appear and gradually improve.

But that was when the country didn’t pay much attention to it, the technical route was unclear, and there was no specialized agency to invest a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to conduct specialized research and improvement…

It was a natural, gradual process.

Technological progress will also be very slow.

Sometimes there is no change for decades.

It was not until the mid-to-late 19th century that human society realized the need to invest in science and technology, and many countries began to invest money and manpower in research and improvement in a planned and purposeful manner.

In that era, the manufacturing technology of guns and gunpowder was already quite mature.

Although it still cannot be compared with the guns of the 21st century, it has already completely crushed the original bows and arrows and old-fashioned guns.

The more advanced the gun, the more difficult it is to improve. However, with the support of large investments from the state, the technology of guns and cannons continued to advance by leaps and bounds from the mid-to-late 19th century to the 20th century.

In today's era, technological development is still in its infancy.

The return on a country's investment in technology is much greater, there is more room for technological improvement, and improvements are easier.

With Zhu Yunhuan's deliberate promotion, technology is advancing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the original natural and social environment, it often took decades or even hundreds of years to evolve a little bit of technological improvement, but in the military factories of the Ming Dynasty, it could often be completed in one or two months.

A side effect is that guns are becoming obsolete very quickly.

The first batch of guns had just been finalized and produced and were equipped to the army.

The next batch of new guns have undergone new technical improvements and are being finalized for production of more advanced guns.

The speed of production is also getting faster and faster.

As a result, the speed of recruiting and training new soldiers is far behind the speed of producing guns and artillery in military factories.

What started as a shortage of weapons has now turned into a shortage of people.

Of course, this is also because Zhu Yunhuan did not distribute the manufactured guns and cannons to the original old army.

He holds the idea that it is better to have nothing than to have something less than perfect.

All troops that need to be equipped with new weapons must undergo rigorous training at the Ming Military Academy.

The new army should have a new atmosphere and new style.

Compared with the original old army, there have been earth-shaking changes.

Otherwise, if you get guns and cannons but become a warlord, that would be big trouble.

The Ming Military Academy is not large enough, so it can be expanded or a new military academy can be established.

The only thing that cannot be used is the old army that has not been trained and reorganized.

It is precisely because of this that there are so many weapons that they cannot be used up.

The new army's weapons were quickly replaced.

Those that were eliminated were collected and locked in the warehouse.

These obsolete weapons were distributed to these ten mercenary groups.

However, although it was equipment eliminated by the new army, it was already advanced enough for them.

The warships given to them had far fewer guns than those on the warships of the Ming Navy.

It is not much different from the navy's transport ship.

But they were already ecstatic to get such a "warship".

An armed army of 500 people actually requires a large number of other unarmed personnel.

Therefore, a "private" mercenary army may have a total number of thousands of people.

Strictly speaking, this is taking advantage of a loophole.

However, after receiving the news, Zhu Yunhuan did not issue an edict to reprimand, which was considered as his "tacit approval".

Anyway, we only give weapons to 500 people.

The rest of the entourage were left alone.

Not only that, the court also provided them with a "world map" and even marked and reminded them of the risks that might be encountered in some areas.

When it comes to forming mercenaries, most nobles and meritorious officials use their own servants as the base of their troops.

After all, these people are loyal, reliable and trustworthy.

But relying solely on domestic slaves is far from enough, and it is still necessary to recruit from outside.

What is most lacking, of course, are "sailors" who have been overseas and have sailing experience.

Previously, these people were often poor.

Having no other options in his hometown, he took the risk and went overseas.

Now it finally has a place to use its skills.

The nobles and wealthy people were all willing to hire him with high salaries.

After all, no one has ever been out to sea, and they are the only ones who have some experience and can provide some guidance.

Overnight, these people went from being poor people at the bottom of society to being guests of honor of the nobles and wealthy.

This is what we call the ever-changing world.

In addition, there were also some "ambitious" scholars who set out on the expedition with the fleet.

They wanted to go overseas to spread the saints' thoughts and culture, to educate the barbarians, and to spread Chinese civilization throughout the world.

This is also a response to the call of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunhuan knew too well the importance of "justice".

Just as the West began the Age of Exploration in history, a crucial driving factor was the large number of missionaries who went to various parts of the world to preach!

Through so-called "missionary work", Western culture was spread throughout the world.

Let many people in the colonies accept the values of the Ming Dynasty and be "willingly" colonized by the Ming Dynasty.

This is the "advanced experience" of the West. Zhu Yunhuan believes that it is worth learning from this aspect.

One good missionary is worth hundreds or thousands of armed soldiers.

In fact, missionaries can do many things that soldiers and armies cannot do.

Zhu Yunhuan also believed that the scholars of the Ming Dynasty had a firm belief no less than that of Western missionaries.

Many scholars in the Ming Dynasty had the "noble morality" of saving the people and taking the world as their responsibility!
As long as they are mobilized, perhaps one person can defeat thousands of troops.

Bring the Ming Dynasty’s advanced civilization concepts to the world!

Let people from all over the world love and yearn for the Ming Dynasty.

Let the Ming Dynasty become the banner of civilization and the "spiritual home" for countless barbaric people overseas.

Let them take the initiative to work for the Ming Dynasty, bring their own dry food, and offer everything they have!
Let them choose to stand on the side of the Ming Dynasty when their own country is at war with the Ming Dynasty and take the initiative to lead the Ming Dynasty army.

Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty's expedition become extremely smooth.

Otherwise, even if you have the most advanced ships and guns, once the enemy relies on the terrain and environment to stubbornly resist to the end, it will become very troublesome to expand your territory overseas.

But if they accept the advanced civilization ideas of the Ming Dynasty and recognize the supreme status of the Ming Dynasty, then the Ming army of the Ming Dynasty will be the most welcome people to them.

They won't resist at all.

This is what is called conquering the enemy without fighting.

This is the most brilliant tactic.

Conquering by force is a very low-level method and can only be used as a trump card.

The temptation of civilization and the crushing of culture are more clever ways.

If you can make the other party surrender willingly just by talking, why bother using guns and cannons?

soon.

Fleets, loaded with hope, set sail.

……

(End of this chapter)