Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2453: The Rule of the World (V) The Third Prince

In the early summer of the eleventh year of Taichang, the port of Dingdong City on the coast of Yingzhou was lined with thousands of ships. Gao Mu stood on the stone steps of the dock with his hands behind his back, watching the fleet of more than 30 ships flying the "South" flag slowly approaching the shore. On the deck, Annan soldiers in light armor and Luzon soldiers wearing bamboo hats lined up on both sides of the warships, and in the middle were Javanese soldiers with dark skin and short swords on their waists. Although this team came from three places, they all exuded a solemn and fierce aura.

This is not an easy task, because most of Da Nan is located in the tropics, the locals are often lazy, and the lack of discipline is almost hopeless. Therefore, to train the locals into elite soldiers, the energy consumed is at least three to five times that of the Han soldiers.

However, the "Southern Soldiers" sent by the Three Associations this time were not entirely local soldiers, or to put it bluntly, they were almost all mixed-race. To explain this matter clearly, we have to start from when Gao Youshi sent several of his brothers to take charge of various places in Southern Xinjiang.

Gao Youshi's policy is aboveboard and consists of nothing more than the "Naturalized Household Registration System". However, since he himself does not personally govern southern Xinjiang, the specific implementation still depends on his younger brothers.

Since when, his brothers began to twist Gao Gongshi's policies at the same time. In short, whenever there was a rebellion, riot, or gathering to cause trouble, these brothers would not implement any conciliatory policies, but would suppress it directly. After the suppression, they implemented the strategy of "keeping women but not men", which caused a serious imbalance in the ratio of men to women. Then, they began to move Han Chinese men to the area, let these men marry local women, and gradually created a large number of mixed-race children.

Since the fathers of these mixed-race children were Han, they were automatically Han Chinese by birth. Through this strategy, the Han Chinese population in Da Nan was raised to "17 million households" (households, not people), accounting for more than 40%, and the Han Chinese were basically assimilated.

At the same time, because their fathers were Han Chinese, they naturally received Confucian education. Therefore, these "second-generation Han Chinese" were far superior to the vast majority of local natives who had not received prenatal education in terms of discipline, obedience, and moral sense, and soon became the backbone of society. The soldiers from the three places that Gao Yuan transferred to Gao Mu were almost all of this type of "second-generation Han Chinese".

"Reporting to the three princes, the three associations of Luzon, Java, and Annan have arrived as ordered."

The deputy general of the imperial guard, Shen Rong, presented the military roster. The numbers marked in cinnabar on the roster were clearly identifiable: "The Luzon Alliance has 4,123 people; the Java Alliance has 4,152 people; the Annan Alliance has 4,237 people. The three alliances brought a total of 16 No. 2 cannons, 48 ​​No. 3 cannons, 124 divine arrows, more than 8,000 Wanli No. 2 muskets and bayonets, more than 4,000 Wanli No. 3 muskets and bayonets, more than 24,000 palm bombs, and 130,000 kilograms of gunpowder for each gun and cannon. The projectiles for both guns and cannons are five base numbers."

Gao Mu raised his eyebrows slightly, and his fingertips brushed over the three characters "Huang Nanjin" that ranked first on the military register, and looked up at the largest third-class battleship in the fleet. Standing at the bow of this giant ship was a middle-aged general, with a burly figure like an iron tower, and a shallow scar on his left cheek that ran diagonally from his ear to his jaw - it was Huang Nanjin who followed Gao Yuan to the west to conquer Bengal that year. Before the west expedition to the Mughal that year, he was the garrison commander of Jinpu Prefecture in Annan Haidong Prefecture and the commander of the first brigade of the second town of Haidong Prefecture.

Because of his contributions in the Western Expedition and his years of experience, he had already become the governor of Western Myanmar, with a garrison under his command, and could be considered one of the most powerful generals of the younger generation. Considering that his father Huang Hu was Huang Zhiting's most trusted general, Huang Nanjin's future was naturally bright.

With such a good background, he was sent to Yingzhou, which inevitably aroused some people's doubts. Some people thought that the prince was on guard against the third prince, so he sent his confidant from his mother's family to monitor his younger brother; some people thought that this was Huang Nanjin's gilding trip, and he should return to Dingnan for promotion after making some contributions in Yingzhou; others thought that now that the prince had returned the power to the emperor, he might go south to the country to be a vassal at any time, so the prince was worried that he would dislike his father if he used his mother's family too much, so he had to wrong Huang Nanjin and let him cross the sea to Yingzhou, this "wild land", to avoid the limelight... In short, there are all kinds of opinions.

"General Huang, how are you?" Gao Mu went forward and saw that Huang Nanjin was still wearing his armor and had a short musket on his waist. It was the "Dingnan Style 1" special edition for generals that was improved by Dingnan Workshop based on the Wanli Style 3.

Without waiting for Gao Mu to step forward, Huang Nanjin knelt on one knee and spoke in a voice as loud as a bell: "I am following the order of the Prince of Nan to lead the young men of the three associations to Yingzhou to obey orders. Before leaving, the prince said: 'The development of Yingzhou requires the strength of Da Nan. Now I have 12,000 young men from the three places to help. I hope my brother will make good use of them.'" After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him carried out wooden boxes one by one. When they lifted the sackcloth, they could see that they were all cannons. The nearest one had the words "Made in Beijing in the fourth year of Taichang" engraved on its body.

Gao Mu solemnly helped Huang Nanjin up and nodded, saying, "Si'en (Huang Nanjin's name) has worked hard along the way. I will always remember your teachings."

Gao Mu had just arranged for Huang Nanjin and his party when news came from the Northern Sea Route: the fleet sent by his second brother Gao Yan had passed through the Bering Strait and approached the west coast of Yingzhou.

Gao Mu took the military report and his eyes fell on the five characters "Ukita Hideie". This famous Japanese general who was exiled by Tokugawa Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara was now leading 12,000 wandering samurai on the warships of the Beiyang Fleet, carrying rice seeds, lacquerware, samurai swords and the same Wanli Type 2 muskets, across the Pacific Ocean.

Five days later, at the Dingdong City parade ground, Gao Mu was wearing a Ming-style armor with a Tang-style horizontal sword given by Gao Youshi himself hanging from his waist. The four characters "Yangwei Haiwai" on the scabbard shone coldly in the sun.

The parade ground is divided into east and west sides. On the east side is the Yingzhou Left Guard led by Huang Nanjin. The soldiers of the Three Associations are arranged according to their regions. The Luzon soldiers, Java soldiers, and Annan soldiers are divided into different flags, and the flags are distinguished by red, green and black respectively. The leader Huang Nanjin is wearing mountain-patterned armor and standing proudly; on the west side is the Yingzhou Right Guard who has just arrived. The former warriors are dressed in black domaru armor with white egret feathers on their bow-shaped helmets. The leader Ukita Hideie is wearing a scarlet cloak, like a blood crow.

"The Left Guard controls the left side of Yingzhou, and the Right Guard controls the right side of Yingzhou." Gao Mu's voice swept across the parade ground, "From now on, they will be combined with the Yingzhou Guard to form the Three Guards of Yingzhou. When they enter, they will defend Dingdong, and when they leave, they will cleanse Yingzhou!"

The Yingzhou Guards that Gao Mu mentioned were the 6,000 Marines he brought with him in the early days, as well as the subsequent expansion. Now, there were only about 8,000 people in total, which was less than the left and right guards. But this was not a big deal, as he now had the power to act on Yingzhou's affairs, and the expanded forces in the future could be put into the Yingzhou Guards to slowly expand the size of the main force.

Huang Nanjin stepped out of the line and said in a loud voice: "The 12,000 soldiers of the Left Guard of Yingzhou are willing to follow the Third Prince to expand overseas and show our power in foreign lands!"

Ukita Hideie then stepped out and swore in slightly stiff Chinese: "Hideie is a defeated general, and I have been granted the service of the Ming Dynasty by the great grace of the Shogun. I am willing to use my samurai soul to expand the territory for the third prince, and I will not stop until I die!" After that, he drew his sword from its sheath, and Gao Mu's stern face was reflected on the blade. Behind him, a young samurai held out a lacquer box, which contained the military flag that Gao Yan had given to Uchimori when he left Japan - now it had been transformed into the "White Tiger Flag" of Yingzhou Right Guard.

Gao Mu nodded and glanced at the weapons rack on the east side of the parade ground. There were Ming Dynasty fire guns, Japanese swords, Nanyang javelins, and even Annan's poisonous crossbows, which looked like an international weapons exhibition.

Gao Mu was deeply influenced by his father Gao Youshi. He was originally a firm believer in the "standardized equipment theory". He was not happy with the complex composition of this mixed army. However, after a period of experience in Yingzhou, he found that mixed armies were not necessarily useless on this continent. Instead, they were more convenient for dealing with the diverse battle situations in Yingzhou - whether it was the Spanish phalanx or the poisonous crossbow guerrilla tactics of the North American natives, they could all be dealt with calmly.

For example, in a battle against the Spanish phalanx, a uniform array of muskets and bayonets would be very useful, but if facing the poisonous crossbow guerrillas of the North American natives, traditional bows and arrows would be more flexible to counterattack. However, what he wanted more now was his father's direct dispatch - he asked his father for 3,000 cavalry, which required nearly 10,000 war horses.

There were no horses in Yingzhou (there were originally, but they died out before large-scale human activities). The Spanish brought some from Europe, but the scale is so small that it can only be used by a few Spanish colonial officials and nobles, and it is barely enough to form a decent cavalry. Therefore, Gao Mu believed that if he could obtain about 3,000 cavalry as soon as possible, it would be enough to crush the Spaniards.

Of course, he also knew that even if his father approved, it would take a lot of time to prepare for mobilizing 3,000 cavalrymen and nearly 10,000 war horses to cross the Pacific Ocean. Otherwise, there would inevitably be a lot of losses along the way, which would be undesirable. Therefore, this matter could only wait.

As dusk settled over Dingdong City, Gao Mu climbed up to the "Wanghai Tower" in the north of the city. Looking back, the city below him had begun to take shape: the central main street was two feet wide, made of a kind of solid local bluestone in long strips, and then densely inserted into the soil to pave it. Although it was labor-intensive and labor-intensive, it was sturdy and durable; on the east side were continuous workshops, where the sparks of the blacksmith shop and the blue smoke of the pottery kiln intertwined; on the west side were scattered residential houses, where immigrants from the Ming Dynasty lived with the friendly local "Yin people", and the smoke from cooking was mixed with the aroma of wheat and roasted venison. These residential houses were built on a large scale using red bricks fired from local red clay, making the entire West City look red, which was not only quite distinctive, but also very beautiful. As for the so-called "Yin people", they were the "Indians" in the Spanish language.

After Gao Mu and his party arrived, they found that these people looked quite similar to the Han people. He immediately remembered that before he and his father parted, his father had said something: "The so-called Indians by the Spanish are actually the descendants of the Shang Dynasty. If you can make them recognize their ancestors, it would be a great good deed, and you should do your best to do it."

With this in mind, his troops were as friendly as possible to the North American natives they met. As long as they were willing to be friendly and tolerant, he called them "Yin people". Not only did he treat them well, he even opened schools to teach them how to "recognize their ancestors". Of course, there were some tribes that were unwilling to be friendly, so he had to fight them.

"Third Prince, as you ordered, farmland has been reclaimed to thirty miles east of the city." Lin Keyuan, an aide, unfolded the map. "This is what the locals call Napa Valley. The soil is fertile and can be used to grow rice, wheat, and grapes. This is the Sonoma Mountains, suitable for setting up a logging camp. As for the port..." He pointed south, "Half Moon Bay can accommodate large ships, and construction of a dock has begun."

Gao Mu took the wine handed over by the servant, and the wine in the luminous cup was rosy in color. This wine was produced in the vineyard in the north of the city, and was brewed with local grapes from Yingzhou. Although it was not as mellow as the Anxi wine, it had a wild fruity aroma.

"Pass on my order: Tomorrow we will open the port for trade, allowing the Yin people from all over the country to exchange furs and other goods for our ironware. Spanish merchant ships can also dock at the port for trade, but they must pay 30% of the tariff."

Lin Keyuan looked embarrassed: "The Spaniards have always been arrogant and regard us as invaders. Even if they were defeated last time, how could they surrender?"

"Submit? They will submit." Gao Mu looked towards the southeast. Hundreds of miles away was the Spanish Viceroyalty of Mexico. "Before, I was short of troops and defeated their army but did not dare to pursue them for long. This time, we have well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. How can I sit idly by and watch them bring reinforcements from Spain to fight a protracted battle? Soon our army will move south, and then they will know that the rules of Yingzhou are set by us, the Great Nan." After he finished speaking, he put down the wine glass, and the porcelain bottom hit the wooden table, making a clear sound.

Lin Keyuan was not a military advisor, so he quickly pulled back the topic and reported, "Third Prince, after detailed investigation, we found that there is another huge valley east of Dingdong. The climate and soil are excellent, and it is very suitable for development as a granary for Yingzhou..."

"I know," Gao Mu waved his hand and smiled, "My aunt mentioned that place. She called it the Central Valley. Well, although the name is a bit strange, how can there be a central place in a wild place? However, the land must be good. It is the foundation of the kingdom of Yingzhou, and it must be well planned.

By the way, my aunt said that everything is fine here, but we need to build some water conservancy projects to divert water from the north to the south... Anyway, you should lead the team to explore this matter yourself, and make sure to plan how to divert water."

The aunt who can point out the "Central Valley" is undoubtedly Liu Xin. The so-called Central Valley is located in the western part of California, USA. It has a Mediterranean climate, which provides good climatic conditions for plant growth. It runs parallel to the Pacific coastline and is surrounded by mountains. It is adjacent to the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains in the east and the Coast Mountains in the west, forming a long and narrow strip from north to south.

This magical land is not only an important agricultural production area in the United States in later generations, but also known as the "vegetable basket" and "fruit basket" of the United States. The total amount of vegetables, fruits and nuts produced here surprisingly accounts for half of the total amount of the United States!
The Central Valley is like a vast green supermarket, stretching 800 kilometers, with more than 400 kinds of agricultural products growing vigorously here. However, it has reached this level after artificial transformation, and the transformation method is just as Liu Xin told Gao Mu in advance - water transfer from north to south.

Lin Keyuan had just accepted the assignment when a gong sounded in the city, indicating three quarters past eight in the evening.

Gao Mu turned around and went downstairs. When he passed the meeting room, he saw Ukita Hideie and Huang Nanjin sitting opposite each other and drinking tea. The former described the changes in the battle formations in the Battle of Sekigahara in slightly stiff Chinese, while the latter deduced the battle ideas of the Southern Xinjiang Army, and the small wooden flags on the sand table on the table were arranged into complicated patterns.

"They all want to achieve great things." Gao Mu nodded secretly and left quietly.

In the autumn of that year, the three guards of Yingzhou gathered 30,000 soldiers and swore an oath outside Dingdong City. Gao Mu rode on a BMW, with the word "Gao" on the general flag above his head fluttering. The vanguard officer Shen Rong led 5,000 musketeers as the vanguard, Huang Nanjin led the main force of the left guard in the center, and Ukita Hideie's right guard was distributed on the west side to prevent the Spaniards from attacking by relying on their familiarity with the terrain.

The first battle was fought in the Salinas River Valley. Two thousand musketeers from the Spanish Viceroyalty formed a square formation, the front row of shieldmen held up their iron shields, the back row of musketeers loaded their ammunition, the sun passed through the barrels, like a sea of ​​silver light. Gao Mu was not in a hurry, he raised his hand and waved the flag, and the left guard's Shenji Arrow Battalion took the lead. Hundreds of rockets flew into the sky, dragging their long tails across the sky, and landed in the Spanish square formation, and suddenly thick smoke billowed, and screams came one after another.

This kind of arrow originated from the "Flying Crow of the Divine Fire" of the Ming army. It was not valued by Gao Youshi at first, but later a craftsman discovered the role of the tail fin and transformed the original complex "Flying Crow of the Divine Fire" into a simple "rocket". By setting the tail fin at the tail, the biggest problem of "no accuracy" was basically solved. Although the current accuracy is only that it will not turn around to blow itself up, and it can generally be fired in one direction, it doesn't matter. As long as the firing is intensive, the accuracy problem is not important - why do you need such high accuracy to cover firepower?

"Fire!" Following Shen Rong's order, the musketeers of the Annan Association fired at the same time. Their equipment was the best among the three associations, all of them were Wanli three-style rifles, and their range was much longer than that of the Spanish matchlock guns. As the lead bullets penetrated the iron-covered wooden shields of the Spanish phalanx, the front row of Spanish soldiers fell to the ground.

Before the enemy could reorganize their formation, the Javanese Association's javelin soldiers approached through the smoke. They blocked sporadic counterattacks with rattan shields and threw javelins like a rainstorm. The Spanish back-row musketeers were caught off guard and their formation became increasingly chaotic.

Seeing this, the Spanish commander Pedro ordered his cavalry to charge. These hundreds of heavy cavalry, who had been assembled with great difficulty, raised dust and pointed their lances at the Ming army formation.

However, Ukita Hideie's right guard had already dispersed forward in advance, turning the Dainan Army's formation into a simplified Crane Wing formation. The two "Crane Wings" revealed their blades - each with 800 Japanese arquebus foot soldiers.

The cannons in the hands of these foot soldiers were not outdated Japanese cannons, but the Wanli II type of the Jinghua. Although they were slightly inferior to the latest Wanli III type, they were still powerful enough to show off their power. They aimed at the densest part of the cavalry formation and fired. After a burst of noise, the front row of horses were beaten to pieces, and the cavalry formation collapsed immediately.

The Spanish military strength was still too insufficient. If the hundreds of heavy cavalry failed to successfully charge the formation, it would be almost difficult for them to even escape.

Gao Mu took the opportunity to wave his flag, and Huang Nanjin's left guard main force pressed forward. The muskets on the battle line suppressed the Spanish firepower, and when they got close, the sharp bayonets tore through the Spanish defense line that had already been in danger. Seeing that the situation was not good, Pedro led the remaining troops to retreat to the fortress deep in the valley, but found that the retreat route had been cut off by the Japanese samurai of the right guard.

"Send an envoy to negotiate peace." Pedro looked at the "South" flag flying in the Ming army and took off his helmet tremblingly. "Say that the Governor of Mexico asked the Prince of the Great South to propose a new border division. I will immediately report it to His Majesty the King for a decision, and strive to resolve the dispute peacefully."
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PS: The protagonist of the next book will be tougher and more ruthless than Gao Youshi. For example, if Gao Youshi is asked to do something, he may use political means to solve it from beginning to end, but the protagonist of the next book may first suppress it with iron blood, and then give the remaining people a difficult way to survive. I wonder how readers will accept such a protagonist?

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