unclear

Chapter 1277: The picture shows the dagger
At the same time, the Lanzhou, Luanzhou, Tongzhou, and Handan industrial bases, the Songjiang, Xiaoliuqiu, Da Nang, and Manila shipyards, as well as all industries related to these factories and mines, also received orders from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Construction, and the General Staff.

From single clothes, cotton coats, socks and shoes to muskets, cannons, gunpowder and kerosene, all are military-related goods. Not only is the quantity large, but the time is also tight. The current number of workers is definitely not enough to complete the orders.

As a result, many places saw a wave of recruitment, and suddenly young and middle-aged people became popular. Those who were not qualified to be soldiers did not need to be discouraged, they could work in factories for a few days, and as long as they were diligent and not too stupid, they might be able to eat workers' food.

The most active response at this time was not from the Ming Dynasty itself. Although after decades of subtle changes, being a soldier had changed from being a disgrace to a high-paying job, the customs buried in the bones of the Ming people had not completely faded. Especially in the relatively wealthy coastal areas, ordinary families were still reluctant to let their children take risks, especially during wartime.

But in contrast to the mainland, the overseas territories and special administrative regions of the Ming Empire all showed an eager attitude towards the conscription order. Many people walked from far away to the conscription points to sign up, and bribing officials in order to get a place was common.

In just two months, Luzon, Annan, Korea, Thanlyin, Colombo and other places had completed most of the conscription quotas, and the local garrisons have been asking the General Staff to appropriately increase the number of places.

The first region to complete the conscription work was, somewhat beyond everyone's expectations, the Western Regions. Less than three months after the conscription order was issued, Gulandam forwarded the secret report from Hami to Wang Chengen.

Huang Taiji said that the quota of 10,000 positions in the Western Regions Military Commission had been filled, but people were still eager to show up, so he begged the emperor to show mercy and add more positions, or transfer some from counties and prefectures where conscription was difficult to give to the Western Regions Military Commission.

"It seems that my previous ideas were somewhat out of touch with reality. Tan Mingming, reduce the number of places in coastal counties by half and give them all to overseas territories and special zones, but the children of officials are not included!"

In fact, this was not the first such memorial. Luzon, Annan and Korea had already submitted similar documents to the General Staff by taking advantage of the convenience of sea transportation, all requesting an increase in quotas.

In comparison, the conscription work in the wealthy areas of the southeast has progressed much more slowly. It's not that the local people do not support it, but they are not very enthusiastic. They will reduce the number of conscriptions if they can, and will only reluctantly hand over the list when urged by local officials.

Is this a good thing? Of course not. If the people of a country are not willing to defend their country, then it will be useless no matter how developed the economy is, especially for a big country.

But it is also human nature. Except for a few individuals, most people are afraid of war. The more they eat, the less willing they are to fight. The easier it is to make money, the less willing they are to risk their lives. On the contrary, people in relatively poor and backward areas will regard military service as a relatively easy way to rise.

Should we make an effort to change it? Hong Tao thinks we should, but he doesn't have the ability to completely change human nature, so he can only let it go. But there is one thing that can be guaranteed, that is, let the officials' children go to the front line first.

For this reason, in addition to his eldest son serving in the Western Regions, Prince Duan Zhu Changying's fourth son, who had just turned 17, also joined the reserve force in the first batch. There is a high probability that he will be sent to the front line, and his life or death is uncertain.

"Whose is it again? Don't accept these things in the future. Let them send the ones that should be sent to the Ministry of Public Security themselves!" After dealing with Huang Taiji's secret memorial, Hong Tao was about to continue looking at the map when Wang Chengen took out another memorial from his pocket.

Hong Tao was getting impatient. The commanders of the various military commissions could send secret reports to the emperor through private channels. They were urgent matters or top secrets that should not be made public. If anyone used this method to send official documents, the Tongzhengsi and Silijian would become useless. "Your Majesty, this morning the Prince of Orange and his entourage left Chaoyang Gate and took the rail car to Dagukou. Minister Yang was afraid that Your Majesty had more instructions, so he asked me to remind you."

Wang Chengen was not such a blind person and had no need for money. He just felt it necessary to inform the emperor before he would help the foreign officials to pass the message, otherwise he would not buy into anyone's account.

"Leaving so soon? The talks are over!" Hong Tao should have been reminded, as he had forgotten about it. But he had not forgotten it completely. The Ministry of Rites would send a copy of the negotiation process to the palace every few days, so he probably had a grasp of the progress.

"Your Majesty has issued an order to recruit 20 soldiers at once. If they still want to argue with the officials of the Ministry of Rites, it would be really tactless."

The next person to take over was the astronaut. He, Tan Mingming, and more than a dozen confidential staff officers of the General Staff all had panda eyes, obviously lacking sleep. But their enthusiasm for work remained unabated. As long as the emperor did not drive them away, they would often eat and sleep in the side hall for several days, taking turns sleeping on a few benches and a few wooden boards.

As a soldier, sitting in a command position, it is a blessing to be able to catch up with such a large-scale war in one's lifetime, and no one wants to miss it. Whether the final victory depends on the front-line soldiers fighting, but if there is a mistake in the planning and leading to defeat, there is no way to defend it.

"We should have left long ago. Food, accommodation and shelter for more than a dozen people all cost money, and there is no point in explaining the matter. They are simply here to drug me!" Hong Tao did not feel the slightest bit of guilt for the departure of Prince of Orange and his entourage.

Through more than two months of negotiations, it is obvious that the other party is not in a hurry. In addition to working hard for three days and resting for two days, they often quibble on some insignificant small issues and dodge when it comes to key issues, refusing to go deeper.

Obviously, the Prince of Orange was regarded as a pawn by the monarchs of European countries. He was not here for negotiation, but to waste time and confuse the enemy. If the Ming emperor took it seriously and thought that he could solve the problem through negotiation, he would become a victim.

At this time, European countries were certainly not idle. They were busy replenishing personnel, mobilizing food and grass, preparing weapons, and transporting and deploying them, and then suddenly launching an attack from a certain point in order to seize the initiative.

If you look more at the history of human warfare, you will find many such examples: one side is busy while the other side seems to be unaware, and then suffers a great loss.

Why was one side prepared while the other side was lax? It was not because the commander was incompetent, but because he was deceived by some illusion, which is the so-called "all is fair in war".

As the victor, after the war, he will definitely not say how shitty the tactics he used were, but will write about how he planned and devised all kinds of strategies.

Therefore, history books must be read, and one must use brains and logic to analyze while reading. The victors are often more despicable and shameless than the losers, and war is an activity in which humans compete to see who is less human.

(End of this chapter)