Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 415: Three years of gathering and marching to Europe, etiquette is not static [Please subscribe]

April is full of beauty in this world.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty was still a scene of prosperity.

Imperial Palace, Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao who was reading the telegram below and laughed, "The third brother is really arrogant. He has only occupied the entire Mamluk region for a few months, and he shouted the slogan of 'Three years of accumulation, and then marching to Europe'."

"Don't you know that conquering the world is easy but ruling it is difficult? If he can't sort out the internal interests of the vassal states, let alone training the troops for three years in peace, the existing territories may not be stable."

Zhu Biao had also finished reading the telegram and said with a smile, "Third brother, although I have no experience in governing a local government, there are many talented people in the shogunate."

"Besides, there are less than 30 Mamluk cities, which is equivalent to two or three prefectures in the Ming Dynasty. I believe that my third brother can govern well."

After the autumn harvest last year, the Jin vassal state and the Xihai Guards captured all the Mamluk cities west of the Red Sea. This spring, they marched eastward and captured the narrow strip of land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean that had once belonged to the Mamluks.

So far, only two remote small towns and three cities that were occupied by other countries have not been taken. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration for Zhu Gang to say that he has taken over the entire Mamluk region.

According to the agreement, the Jin vassal state would divide the narrow strip of land from the future Suez Canal to Damascus, about 100 miles wide and 1,000 miles long, to Xihaiwei.

As for most of Syria and Jordan in later generations, they still belonged to the State of Jin.

Of course, some territories are currently occupied by several countries in the east that split from the Ilkhanate, and it is estimated that Jin will need to use force to conquer them.

This time, the telegram sent by Zhu Gang not only revealed his idea of ​​"gathering people in three years and marching to Europe", but also mentioned the current situation of Jin State.

So far, the population of Jin State recorded in the Yellow Book is only over 1.5 million - and this is the result of Zhu Gang deslaving some slaves and recording them in the Yellow Book as civilians. Otherwise, the number would be one-third less.

Last year, Zhu Gang had already formed a local garrison army of more than 30,000 people, and in the next three years he plans to train at least another garrison army of 50,000 people.

Due to its special nature, Xihaiwei was allocated only a population of more than 200,000. On the basis of the 3,000 garrison troops that immigrated from the Ming Dynasty, another 5,000 local garrison troops will be trained. Xihaiwei will continue to immigrate from the inland of the Ming Dynasty in the future and increase the number of immigrant garrison troops until a Dusi is established.

In fact, whether it is the garrison troops of the Jin vassal state or the local garrison troops organized by the Xihai Guard, their equipment will definitely not be the same as that of the garrison troops immigrated from the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty’s garrison troops were not only well-equipped with weapons and armor, but most importantly, they were highly equipped with firearms.

The local garrison troops will still use cold weapons and will not be equipped with any firearms for the time being.

Therefore, the local garrison troops organized by Jin Fan and Xihaiwei were actually similar to auxiliary troops and militia.

Even so, as long as these local garrison troops were given enough food and wages and equipped with sufficient swords, guns and armor, their combat effectiveness would be first-rate in North Africa and West Asia. After all, the Mamluks were known as a "country established by military force" in the past, and their people were considered a very good source of soldiers in the local area.

Zhu Biao delivered the telegram to the imperial desk.

Zhu Yuanzhang folded it up and put it away, a look of worry on his face. "According to the time, the seventh brother should have reached the border of Vijayanagara, right? Although this kid has some military skills and courage, his temperament is still a bit unruly."

"Now, no one overseas can restrain him. I don't know if he will cause any trouble or whether he can successfully establish his vassal state."

Zhu Biao was actually a little worried about Zhu Gui.

Firstly, in his opinion, Zhu Gui was still young, and his ability was indeed far inferior to that of Zhu Gang and even Zhu Zhen.

Secondly, he also got to know the people in Qi Fan. To be honest, whether they were civil officials or military generals, their quality was worse than that of Yan Fan, and even worse than that of Jin Fan.

The emperor and his ministers were both incompetent, so Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of a vassal state overseas was naturally a cause for concern.

Zhu Biao still tried to console him, "Father, since you've passed the civil service exam, you're certainly capable of establishing a vassal state. Besides, you've always had good luck, so even if you encounter any danger, I think you'll be able to turn it around."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Let's wait. If he doesn't send a telegram back by April, have Lao Si send someone to southern India to take a look."

At this time, a eunuch said at the palace gate: "Your Majesty, Minister Qiu of the Ministry of Rites requests to see you."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Qiu Shixian is probably here again regarding the migration of the Goryeo family - let him in."

The eunuch responded and left, soon bringing an old man with a white beard into the hall.

"See Your Majesty."

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked directly, "What is the matter, Mr. Qiu?" Qiu Shixian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the first group of Koryo immigrants, the Pei, Liu, and Song families, have arrived today. I'm afraid that when they see the accommodations the court has arranged for them, they will be dissatisfied and think the court is stingy."

"If this matter were to spread to other vassal states, it would surely damage the reputation of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly, "Haven't I already made this clear? They are the parasites of the nation and the scourge of the people. If we were to punish them according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, their property would most likely be confiscated and their entire clan would be exterminated."

"Now, not only have I given them a way to live, I have also allowed them to take their wealth and migrate to the capital to settle down, and even distributed land and houses according to the number of people."

"Why are they dissatisfied? Do they know what's good for them?!"

When he said the last sentence, Zhu Yuanzhang's tone became even heavier, which made Qiu Shixian tremble.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang's arrangement for the Goryeo family really challenged his understanding, so he gritted his teeth and wanted to continue to persuade him, "Your Majesty is the supreme ruler, you should be benevolent and righteous in order to rule the country..."

"Minister Qiu!" This time it was Zhu Biao who suddenly spoke up, interrupting Qiu Shixian. "Isn't my father's words clear? Many of the Goryeo nobles and powerful families have committed crimes and should be punished according to the law. The court's current arrangements are already a mercy!"

When Qiu Shixian heard Zhu Biao say this, he was surprised at first, and then he suddenly realized that he almost said something he shouldn't have said.

If Zhu Biao had not organized in time, as soon as he said that, not only would he not be able to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang, he might even be dismissed from his post or thrown into jail.

After understanding all this, Qiu Shixian could only say, "I understand... I'll take my leave."

After Qiu Shixian left Fengxian Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but say, "This Qiu Shixian, he's not even as old as me, but he's already senile and confused. He insists on pleading for those Korean bastards for no reason. What a fool!"

Zhu Biao said, "Father, calm down. Our Chinese dynasties have always treated vassal states and foreign countries with courtesy. It's normal for Minister Qiu to be confused for the moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Etiquette? Etiquette is not static. Now our treatment of those insects is the etiquette of our Ming Dynasty!"

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Fourteen-year-old Pei Xuanzhu sat in the four-wheeled carriage without any curiosity - in Goryeo, her family had several such four-wheeled carriages, and the interior and exterior decorations were much more luxurious than this one.

She even felt a little uncomfortable because there was no incense in the car and the cushion under her butt was not camel hair, and she kept covering her mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally couldn't help herself and lifted the car window curtain to look out. Seeing fields on both sides of the road, she asked, "Mom, where are we going?"

"How should I know?" Pei Xuanzhu's mother Yin said impatiently.

Yin was also a daughter of a noble family and was not used to this spacious but uncomfortable four-wheeled carriage. The most important thing was that she was in a bad mood.

When Goryeo submitted to the Ming Dynasty, her natal family, the Yin family, was somehow convicted of a serious crime and had their property confiscated and exiled. Except for the Yin daughters who married out, all other members of the Yin family, regardless of gender, age or status, were exiled to the three major military governorates of Beiyang, Jilin and Luohuang.

Although her husband's family, Mrs. Pei, escaped the disaster, she was hinted to give up her house and land, and move to the capital of the Ming Dynasty with only some floating assets within a certain period of time.

Originally, Yin thought that the Ming court would at least arrange a house for them in the city, but now the convoy carrying more than 20 members of their direct lineage was outside the city.

Obviously, the place where the court accommodated them was also outside the city.

The carriage went down the cement road, bumped along for more than a quarter of an hour, and finally stopped.

Pei Xuanzhu, her mother and several sisters got off the car and saw an ordinary village in front of them, with about forty or fifty households.

Relying on the favor of her father and brother, she came to the front of the caravan and heard her father talking with the green-robed official who brought his family over.

"Mr. Pei, this is the house allocated to your family by the imperial court. It has two entrances and more than ten rooms. It should be enough for your family to live in, right?"

Father Pei Dongxian smiled and nodded, saying, "That's enough."

The green-robed official said, "That's enough—this house has everything the court needs. But Mr. Pei is from a wealthy Korean family after all. If you're not used to it, or if you feel there's something missing, you can go to the city to buy it."

"Anyway, Lijiapo is only a dozen miles away from the capital. Mr. Pei can buy two carriages and it will be very convenient to go into the city."

"As for the land allocated to your family, you can ask the village elders. The capital is densely populated and land is scarce, and the price of land has been rising year by year. Even so, His Majesty has allocated half an acre of paddy field and one acre of dry land to each adult member of your family from the official land. This can be said to be very considerate."

Pei Dong's face was filled with gratitude. "Yes, indeed. I am deeply grateful for the Emperor's kindness and the court's care. Deputy Envoy Zhang, would you like to come in and rest for a while and have a cup of tea? I brought a few pounds of fine tea from Goryeo. You could enjoy it."

"No need for that. I have other official business to attend to in the city. Mr. Pei should hurry up and take care of the family." The green-robed official turned around and saw Pei Xuanzhu. He seemed to remember something and turned back and said, "By the way, if Mr. Pei has any difficulties, he can go to the Jiangning County Court's etiquette office in the city to seek help."

Having said that, he turned and left.

(End of this chapter)