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Chapter 1258 The Prince Arrives
But as time went by, the scene at that time was gradually revealed by the lucky participants. The emperor really didn't cheat, and Huang Taiji's defeat was not unfair. There is indeed a flying army in the world, and it belongs to the Four Guards Camp of the Imperial Horse Administration.

The Imperial Horse Administration had two armies in total, the Warrior Battalion and the Four Guard Battalion. During the Wanli period, most of them were stationed in the city and in the imperial farms and pastures in various places, with a total number of less than 10,000. After Emperor Jingyang ascended the throne, he gradually took control of the military power, and then began to expand and reorganize these two armies that were completely under his control.

Some of its members came from the Haihu Division and Cuju Team of that year, and some were elite soldiers drawn from the army and navy. The number of members quickly expanded to nearly 3.

However, except for the Warrior Battalion of about 10,000 people stationed in and outside the capital, the four guard battalions are all scattered across the country, with the Changping base being the largest.

This base was not far from the Royal Gunpowder Factory, located in the mountains, and was strictly guarded. No one was allowed to approach without the emperor's order. What exactly was being done was unknown to the Ministry of War, not even the General Staff and the Army Staff. The expenses were also paid from the imperial treasury, not included in the court budget.

Huang Taiji is the heavenly soldiers and generals seen in this base. Each of them jumped off the cliff on a huge triangular kite, but did not fall to the bottom of the valley. Instead, they floated up and flew around the base several times before landing in the designated training ground.

It is still possible to tell whether it is the Magic Yellow Tai Chi or not. This thing looks a bit like a kite, but it is definitely not a kite. In addition to not having a string to hold it, each kite has two blades in front that rotate with the soldiers stepping on the springs. It is precisely because of the rotation of the blades that the big kite can be controlled freely and travel thousands of miles a day.

The emperor said that if the wind direction was right, these things called paragliders could fly continuously for hundreds of miles, and could fly from the base to the capital in half an hour, and could land safely in any wide place.

There is also a larger glider that can carry three people. Its speed is twice that of a paraglider and its flight distance is also longer. However, I couldn't see it that day because it was being trained somewhere else.

It was enough. When Huang Taiji saw more than a dozen paragliders flying in a line in the sky, he gave up. The emperor was right. No matter how good the cavalry was, they couldn't compete with this thing in speed. One was running on the ground, and the other was flying in the sky. It was too bullying!

"If Minister Yang is still worried, you can ask the professors in the car behind you. They were also ordered by His Majesty to come here to welcome His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange to the capital. I heard that some of them were former subordinates of the Prince and they had served in the army together."

Seeing that no one in the carriage was talking and the atmosphere was a little awkward, Silva rolled his eyes and planned to divert the trouble. In addition to the three official officials, there were also three European scholars from the Royal Academy in the team that went to Tongzhou Prefecture to greet them today.

"Forget it... If His Majesty has any special instructions, he will definitely let you know in advance. I'll send the person to Huitong Hall before going to the palace to ask for your instructions." Yang Sichang did not accept it. He said it calmly, but his face was a little embarrassed.

European scholars have been teaching in the Royal Academy for several years, and their number has increased from a few to dozens. To this day, ambassadors from the Ministry of Rites to various European countries still hold the emperor's appointed list in their hands.

As soon as the target is found, action will be taken immediately, whether it is persuasion, enlightenment, coercion or inducement, all kinds of means will be used together, as long as the person can be brought back, he will be rewarded.

Compared with the emperor's enthusiasm, the civil and military officials in the court, including the military, were not very interested in these Westerners. No one understood why they had to look for talents from Europe. If we were to talk about the learned, the Hanlin Academy had plenty of them. Wouldn't the Imperial Academy, which taught new knowledge, not be enough?
But the subsequent developments could not be ignored. Not only did European scholars receive treatment comparable to that of fourth-rank officials, they also gradually began to get involved in the daily work of the Ming court. From the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War to the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Chemical Industry, many top-secret projects related to the military were approved to participate. This inevitably made some people feel sad. It was a good deal. Instead of paying attention to the well-educated scholars, they brought in a group of foreign countries to entrust them with important tasks.

As the Minister of Rites, Yang Sichang had the convenience of working to come into contact with more foreigners and things. He probably knew the emperor's intentions and partially agreed with them. But he still felt uncomfortable and was even less willing to take the initiative to make friends with those European scholars.

Outside Zhengyang Gate, there is Dongjiang Mixiang and Nanhuitong Hall. As the main place for receiving envoys from Southeast Asia and Western countries, it has been used more and more frequently in recent years. During important festivals, there are so many envoys from various countries that they cannot accommodate them, so they have to let their entourage rent houses nearby.

The people in the capital city did not have so many taboos. Many families nearby discovered business opportunities and immediately renovated their own courtyards. Most of them set aside half of their courtyard and rented it out to the entourage of the envoys coming to the capital for short-term residence, and business was very good.

The increase in the number of foreigners living here has brought about other opportunities to make money, such as opening restaurants with foreign flavors and purchasing goods for foreigners.

Over the past decade, the originally not-so-bustling Dongjiang Rice Lane has completely changed its appearance. There are rows of merchants along the street. In addition to foreigners who live in Huitong Hall, there are also some curious locals who like to come and have a look, whether to buy or not.

In sharp contrast to this is the Beihuitongguan outside Donghuamen. As the various ethnic groups in northern Mobei have successively submitted to the mainland, there are no more envoys stationed there. Only envoys from Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Bukhara and Russia are stationed in this huge building. On ordinary days, not even a single person can be seen and the whole street is deserted.

However, there was something unusual these days. There were often carriages parked outside the side door, carrying furniture and daily necessities into the courtyard. The words "Ministry of Rites" were painted on the body of the carriages, which meant they were probably cleaning and tidying up to welcome guests.

The guest who could attract such a large-scale delegation from the Ministry of Rites must be of high status, but I couldn't think of any monarch of any northern country who was worthy of such a grand ceremony, unless there were several of them coming at once.

The answer was revealed within a few days. As a long line of carriages stopped at the gate, the guests finally revealed their true faces. Two of them were big men, about fifty years old, with thin faces, green eyes, and curly orange hair. They looked like standard Europeans, and red-haired foreigners.

The person with them was a short man of about the same age, with a thick beard but a bald head. He didn't even know to wear a hat in the middle of winter, and was blown by the north wind as soon as he got off the car.

Several more Europeans got off the carriage behind, but they all had one thing in common: the clothes they wore were similar to those of the people in the Ming Dynasty. It was obvious that unlike the first three who were new arrivals, they must have lived in the Ming Dynasty for quite some time.

(End of this chapter)