prosperous age

Chapter 994 1085 Ancestors' Foundation

"We'll go check the surrounding security situation later. Li Jin said that the barbarians have established strongholds in many places on the island. We don't know if they have discovered our arrival."

Deng Zilong stared at the dense forest in the east and said with some concern.

"Sir, we need to send someone to quietly explore the surrounding area to find out the situation."

The gunboat captain suggested in a low voice.

"Do you have anyone under your command who is familiar with the forest and knows how to scout?"

Deng Zilong asked in surprise.

"Sir, I was transferred to the Navy Camp only because I grew up by the sea and am familiar with water. But I was a member of the Guards before, so how could I not have some scouts under my command?"

The gunboat captain patted his chest and said.

"Wang Wanggao, do you really have people in this field on your ship?"

Deng Zilong became excited when he heard it.

You know, when Yu Dayou announced it at the coastal garrisons, all the selections were based on their familiarity with water. After all, they were recruiting naval forces, not combat soldiers, and the needs of land warfare were not taken into consideration at all.

Except for the gunners and a small number of archers, almost all of them can swim and do not suffer from seasickness.

There is nothing we can do about it except relax the restrictions on gunners and archers.

There were too few gunners and archers in the Ming army garrisons.

Firing a cannon is not just about loading and firing it. It requires the ability to aim at the target and fire.

The situation is similar for archers, they cannot be trained in a short period of time.

Bird gunners can be mass-produced, and it is relatively simple.

Just aim the iron pipe at the enemy and fire it. After all, the range of using a bird gun will not be very far, so you can just train the selected officers and soldiers.

However, Yu Dayou had to argue with the commander of the garrison many times over these gunners and archers.

After all, these are already considered technical troops in the Ming army, and there are only a few of them to begin with. If he takes away another batch of them, they will certainly not be happy.

As for scouts and the like, naturally, they were not even considered.

After all, it is still necessary to scout the enemy situation, but that is done by sending ships, so there is no need for scouts and other types of troops to conduct reconnaissance.

Therefore, Deng Zilong was so happy when he heard Wang Wanggao say that there were his former scouts on his ship.

It's like someone gave me a pillow when I was sleepy. Whatever I wished for came true.

The reason why he did not consider searching the surroundings was because he considered that he did not have the talent in this area.

Now, the soldiers who were originally scouts will naturally be used.

"Bring the men here, anyone who has served as a scout."

Deng Zilong waved his hand and asked Wang Wanggao to find someone. He waited for people to come in this temporary tent.

Before long, Wang Wanggao came over with two people.

Unlike the scouts of the northern border army, the two men brought by Wang Wanggao were not tall and seemed to be very agile.

Deng Zilong would not look down on them because of this. He had led troops in Jiangxi and knew that the scouts in the south were different from those in the north. They did not need to be tall and strong, able to ride horses, endure hunger, and wield all kinds of weapons, but precisely those with this kind of agility.

"Are you familiar with the forest?"

Deng Zilong asked as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Before joining the military camp, I worked as a hunter for three years to make a living."

A slightly older young man answered immediately, and the one next to him nodded.

"My lord, they and I are from the same centurion, and both of us are archer families. In order to supplement the family income, you know, most archers have also been hunters, so they are very familiar with the mountains and forests.

The two of them were summoned to the navy camp because of their status as archers."

Wang Wanggao introduced, and it was obvious that he was very familiar with these two people.

“Are you used to working in pairs, or can you act separately?

Of course, you can also choose other people around you to help you. "

Deng Zilong didn't want to waste time, so he waited for the two to greet each other and announce their names before asking.

"My lord, what you mean is"

Before the two of them could speak, Wang Wanggao hesitated and asked.

"We need to search the surrounding area, not only in the east, but also in the north and south directions, including the area near Daimao City, to see what sentries Lin Feng has arranged nearby."

Deng Zilong glanced at Wang Wanggao and immediately explained: "To the north and east, we are mainly searching to see if there are any local tribes around, and whether there are any Yi people nearby.

As for the south, I want a topographic map of the area around Tortoise City."

Deng Zilong paused for a moment before speaking: "If we want to attack Daimao City, it will not work just from the sea. Once Lin Feng leads his men into the forest, it will be very difficult for us to encircle and suppress them.

Therefore, the best way is to understand the terrain outside the city of Daimao, use the terrain advantage to build a camp to prevent them from escaping to the east, and completely block them in the city of Daimao.

The bay is sealed off with gunboats, so Lin Feng and his group can’t escape.”

"I see. I was wondering how you were going to attack the Castle of Tortoises."

Wang Wanggao nodded in agreement.

"Our main task is not to wipe them out immediately, but to find out the situation without anyone noticing. It would be best if we could get some vassal soldiers to help us.

But if we really want to take action, it would be best to wait for the admiral to arrive with his army.

Those preparations are just to prevent the barbarians from taking action first and encircling or expelling Lin Feng back to Ming Dynasty, which would be the most troublesome thing. "

At this point, Deng Zilong looked at Wang Wanggao and smiled, "Captain Wang should know what the admiral has always believed, which is that it is best to fight the enemy at sea, and land warfare is the next best option."

Wang Wanggao nodded when he heard this. He was very familiar with Yu Dayou. After all, he was a great man who came from the Fujian Guard Station.

In the 30th year of Jiajing's reign, he had already served as the commander-in-chief of Fujian and Zhejiang, responsible for the war against the Japanese pirates.

At that time, he mobilized all the warships of the Zhejiang Garrison to form the Zhejiang Navy to resist the invasion of Japanese pirates and also to prevent the Japanese pirates from escaping.

It’s a pity that later on, somehow, news spread that Yu Dayou was guilty of colluding with the Japanese pirates. He was then captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and brought back to the capital to be questioned.

Who would have thought that after not hearing any news for many years, the next time we heard his name was when he led the Jiangxi Garrison into Fujian to suppress the rebel Zhang Lian.

At that time, Wang Wanggao had just entered the military camp and inherited his family's military rank and became a centurion.

The gap between the two was too big, so naturally they could only admire each other and not even look at each other.

"Sir, do you think this is feasible? Let them each choose two people to search from the north and east first to find out the enemy situation.

After we have investigated both sides, we can attack the south side last. This way, it will not be easy to expose our presence. "

Wang Wanggao suggested.

Deng Zilong nodded immediately, but his eyes looked at the two men.

Since they are the ones to do this, it naturally depends on their intentions.

Of course, as a superior, you can give them orders, but the effect of doing so may not be good.

Seeing that the two were a little hesitant, after all, the two deputies he chose were not good at scouts, and it would definitely be risky to keep them around.

This is not the Ming Dynasty, but Luzon, thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that the place is unfamiliar. If an accident happens, it will be fatal.

“After this battle, I will recommend each of you to be promoted to a higher level. This is just a reward for being a scout.

If you perform meritorious service on the battlefield, the reward will be calculated separately."

Yu Dayou imitated Qi Jiguang's reward regulations and gave generous rewards to soldiers who had made meritorious contributions on the battlefield.

Previously, when suppressing the Japanese pirates around the Ming Dynasty, meritorious officers and soldiers received considerable rewards based on their achievements, which were tangible rewards.

It is precisely because of this that the morale of the South China Sea Navy soldiers is very high. They are not nervous about being sent to fight, worrying that something unexpected will happen to them on the battlefield and that their families will suffer.

Yes, although it is a military household system in the garrisons, it does not mean that there will always be disabled family members in the family to supplement the military camp.

You know, if military households do not join the army, they will have no income.

The little bit of military farmland distributed in the early Ming Dynasty had long been taken away by officials.

As for the method, of course they would not rob openly, but take advantage of the difficulties faced by various families and use usury or other means to get the money.

There's nothing we can do about this kind of thing even if we report it to the police.

They were just collecting the loaned money according to the contract, not robbing property, so Wei Zhenfu couldn't say anything.

Although the military households were severely deducted by their superiors, they still had some income, and with some work done outside, they could barely survive.

After all, it is the south, and the wild vegetables and prey in the mountains can barely fill our stomachs.

But after joining the navy, the situation of officers and soldiers was different.

Although military pay was still deducted, it was not as severe as when they were in the garrisons.

There are rewards for meritorious service in battle, which are much better than the meager income from military salary.

In fact, the person who withheld military pay was not Yu Dayou, as he did not care about this little money.

But the military pay allocated by various provinces and the military preparation department had already been squandered, and it was impossible for him to pay the soldiers out of his own pocket.

As for reporting the matter to the imperial court, that would be even more of a joke.

If that time really comes, Wei Guangde may not be able to save him.

As for whether the generals below had continued to embezzle money, Yu Dayou simply reminded them not to push the soldiers too hard, or else they would be sold out if they did not work hard on the battlefield.

Therefore, the proportion of military pay received by the officers and soldiers of the South China Sea Navy should be the highest among all the Ming troops.

After all, Yu Dayou also had to rely on these generals to command the war, and he could not completely cut off their financial resources.

This may be where he is helpless.

In the past, Yu Dayou would absolutely not be able to tolerate such a system.

But after so many years of experience in officialdom, he also knew that there was nothing he could do and he could only pretend he didn't know.

When the water is too clear, there will be no fish. This is what our ancestors said, and it does make some sense.

Now, after getting Deng Zilong's promise, the two finally nodded.

The words of the navy battalion generals have been recognized by the soldiers after several bandit suppression campaigns.

You also have to promise to give rewards, which will definitely be given after the war.

Although being a scout does not directly reward you with silver, if you can become a general, your monthly military salary will increase a little. This is a long-term thing and cannot be calculated too much.

If you have a good relationship with your superiors and manage things well, perhaps this general position will become a family heirloom.

Yes, the status of low-ranking military officers such as centurions and general flag officers depends to a large extent on the attitude of the captain of the garrison.

Of course, for those with hereditary military positions, that is another matter.

However, among the low-ranking military officers of the Ming Dynasty, only a few official positions were hereditary. The power of most official positions was still in the hands of the chiefs of the garrisons, who operated them.

It should be said that those who formulated the system at the beginning also understood the military and knew that they had to give some flexibility to the people below them and cultivate their own people so that they could command them as easily as using their own arms.

So, the two of them quickly selected familiar soldiers, took their weapons, followed them out of the camp, and began to search the surrounding area.

In the capital, in Ciqing Palace.

In the huge hall, Wei Guangde was the only one standing there alone, while at the top sat the two Empress Dowagers, and on the side stood the young Emperor Zhu Yijun.

Wei Guangde lowered his head slightly and said, "Queen Dowager, I still insist that a large army should be sent to Luzon.

The Empress Dowager might not know that in fact, in the third year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu Taizong had appointed Xu Chailao as the Governor-General of Luzon, in charge of the military, political, financial, and cultural power of Luzon.

In theory, Luzon should be considered a province of the Ming Dynasty at this time.

But later, in the first year of the Zhengtong reign, Emperor Yingzong was still young and was worried that the voyage would drain the national treasury, so he temporarily stopped the expedition.

After the national politics stabilized, he tried several times to restart the voyage to the West, but all ended in failure due to financial problems and opposition from officials. It was not until the third year of Tianshun that an edict was issued to stop all activities.

At this point, the Yongle Dynasty had lost everything including Old Port and Luzon. "

Wei Guangde was relatively polite. In fact, when Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen first ascended the throne, he knew nothing. He was just a little kid who knew nothing. He was fooled by the Three Yangs in the cabinet at that time, so he stopped his voyages to the West.

Later, when he grew up and realized that he had lost the foundation laid by his ancestors, he wanted to restart it. However, the officials were strongly opposed to it. He also had a dark history of being captured, and finally he could not overcome the opposition of the officials.

As for why the officials opposed it, it was naturally because the result of the voyages to the West was that they brought back a large amount of spices and other things, and these things were often used as salary distribution in a country with financial difficulties.

Once or twice, the officials were grateful for Your Majesty's grace, but if too much is given, it becomes a burden.

We also have to find a way to exchange these things for food, which is really troublesome, so naturally we have to choose to oppose it.

Don’t think that Emperor Yingzong’s resumption of voyages to the West was fake. Apart from other things, the loss of the old port that had already been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty was a serious crime.

If it weren't for the great disturbance caused by the Oirat Mongols in the north, the Ming fleet would have sailed to the West again two years later.

"Governor of Luzon?"

Empress Dowager Chen was stunned for a moment before asking after a while.

"Yes, the palace should be able to find the imperial decree archived. I dare not speak nonsense about this matter."

In order to allow the Ming Dynasty, or China, to regain Old Port and Luzon, Wei Guangde took great pains and found almost all the information. Finally, he used the case of Xu Chailao, the Governor of Luzon, to convince the stubborn Ge Shouli and get him to agree.

The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the ancestral foundation, and Old Port and Luzon just happened to scratch their sore spot.

Annan was originally abandoned by the imperial court, so it naturally does not count.

But neither Old Port nor Luzon had such an order.

At this point, even if the senior officials in the court did not support Wei Guangde, they could only acquiesce and no longer oppose.

The matter finally came to the attention of Ciqing Palace.

This time, after the two Empress Dowagers read the cabinet's memorial, they specifically sought out Wei Guangde to find out more about the situation.

After all, he has been pushing for this matter.

If we were to invade a vassal state, the two Empress Dowagers would definitely not agree. This would bring disgrace to the Celestial Empire and would also make foreign countries uneasy.

But since there is already an old precedent of governor-general management, it is naturally a different matter.

"But now, Luzon seems to have fallen into the hands of the barbarians."

Empress Dowager Chen finally spoke.