I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 503 The Sun at Eight or Nine in the Morning

Xishan is a mountainous area in western Beijing with Shijingshan as its center.

The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast.

The northern part is a continuous and undulating mountainous area, which is an extension of the northern end of the Taihang Mountains to the plains. There are more than 40 peaks including Keqinyu (formerly known as Jianfu Mountain), Tiantai Mountain, Cuiwei Mountain, Qinglong Mountain, and Hutou Mountain.

The central and southern parts are slightly sloping plains formed by the alluvial deposits of the Yongding River, with residual hills such as Shijingshan, Jindingshan, Laoshan, and Babaoshan below 200 meters above sea level lying across them.

It is backed by the Sanggan River to the west, and is divided into the Lugou River and Qing River below the Lugou Bridge. The Sanggan River is an important water source for Beijing. Several canals lead directly to Beijing City, surrounding the gates and serving as a moat.

South of Shijingshan Mountain in the Western Hills, the terrain is flat, and military camps and houses were built stretching for dozens of miles. Among them was a vast parade ground that was four miles long and two miles wide and could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

There was a high platform in the middle of the parade ground. Zhu Yijun stood on the platform, wearing a round-brimmed hat with a white edge, a long coat with a lapel, embroidered with gold thread, a white belt around his waist, and his trousers tucked into high-top sheepskin boots.

The military uniforms originally had red edges, but because it was a period of national mourning, they were all changed to white edges and modified.

Standing beside him were Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and a dozen generals, all wearing similar new military uniforms, but Zhu Yijun's uniform was more gorgeous in comparison.

The shoulder straps and armbands are also different.

Zhu Yijun's shoulder straps did not have a patterned gold star to identify his military rank, but only a soaring golden dragon. His armbands did not have the symbols of swords, guns, war horses, rudders, and anchors to distinguish between military branches, but only a round dragon.

Hu Zongxian's armband was a flying red bird and his shoulder straps were cranes, implying civilian positions in the military.

Qi Jiguang's armband is a unicorn, which means he is a high-ranking military officer, surpassing the military branch. The shoulder patch has three five-pointed gold stars, one large and two small, which means he is a general who defends the country.

Mature audiences can tell at a glance that this new military uniform is a combination of the styles of the German and Soviet armies during World War II.

The music started and the band went first.

The long brass trumpets and snare drums were brought over from the Portuguese, plus the flutes and specially made brass bugles. There were sixty people, all young men from the Qinghe Non-commissioned Officers School.

They were wearing new navy blue military coats and white-rimmed round-brimmed hats, and lined up in six rows, following an officer holding the Ming Dynasty's vertical military flag. They marched in neat steps, with their heads held high, and walked towards them in a dignified manner, playing passionate and rhythmic music.

After walking past the platform, turn right, stop on the right side of the platform, and continue playing military music.

The next to come over was the Hongwu Military Academy's college team.

They were all mid-level officers above the rank of lieutenant, a hundred of them, wearing gray army uniform coats, round-brimmed hats and white gloves, and carrying command sabers. They were arranged in a square formation of ten rows and ten columns, with two officers leading the team in the front, walking towards the rhythm of the military music played by the military band.

The upper body was almost motionless, with the hands hanging by the sides, and only the legs were moving in neat steps.

When they reached the platform, they all looked to the right and raised their heads to salute Zhu Yijun and others on the platform.

Next came the formations of officers and cadets from the Xishan Military Academy and the Qinghe Non-commissioned Officer School.

The fourth group to come out was the Yulin Army. They were dressed in new grey uniforms and carried muskets with bayonets. They marched in neat steps, raised their heads to the right, and walked towards us in a heroic and high-spirited manner.

They walked to the front of the platform, and with a loud shout from the two leading officers in front, the muskets were taken out and pointed forward, with a hundred bayonets shining coldly.

The fifth phalanx is the Konghe Army phalanx. Their uniforms are similar, except for the armbands.

The Yulin Army consisted of two crossed muskets with a feather above them, while the Konghe Army consisted of a flying crane on top of the crossed muskets.

The sixth formation is the Marine Battalion. They are wearing blue uniforms and short-brimmed hats with white edges.

Their armband is an anchor on top and a musket on the bottom.

The Marine Corps would fight on land by boat, and the boat would have to drop anchor before they could attack with guns.

The seventh formation is the navy. They also wear blue uniforms, and their hats have white edges and no brims, with a ribbon on the right.

The armband is a ship's rudder. For the navy, a round rudder is the most important.

They also carried muskets with bayonets and marched in neat steps, with the same momentum as the other phalanxes, all of them were overwhelming. They were dragons in the water and tigers on the shore.

The eighth square was the artillery square. Ten gun carriages pulled ten nine-jin field guns with six artillerymen sitting on them, and they slowly drove by.

The ninth square was the rocket artillery square. Six horse-drawn carriages pulling the latest rocket launchers slowly passed by.

These rocket launchers are equipped with tail fins, and their range is still about three miles, with the error range reduced from one hundred meters to thirty meters.

A rocket launcher can be divided into six-round or eight-round rockets according to its caliber.

This is used by the army and the navy. Due to the narrow deck, it is usually a four-shot rifle. If one shot doesn't hit the target, I will fire four shots.

The tenth phalanx is the guard army.

They were dressed in green new military uniforms and walked towards us carrying muskets.

Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and others followed Zhu Yijun's example, raising their right hands to their ears with their forearms and upper arms forming a 45-degree triangle.

After the review, Zhu Yijun, accompanied by Qi Jiguang and Lu Xiang, walked down the platform and got into a two-horse carriage.

Zhu Yijun sat in the middle, Qi Jiguang and Lu Xiang sat in the back row, and drove towards the parade ground.

After marching across the platform, the ten phalanxes lined up in order on the open space of the parade ground, facing the platform, with a distance of two hundred meters between them.

The carriage drove slowly past, Zhu Yijun stood up and straightened his body. Qi Jiguang and Lu Xiang, wearing different uniforms of naval and land force generals, stood in a row behind.

As the carriage drove over, the leading officer gave an order, and the officers and cadets in formation drew their swords, turned sideways to the front, and held them upright in front of their faces.

The white light flickered like waves on the sea.

Zhu Yijun saluted with his right hand, and the military ranks burst into a loud and orderly shout: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

When the carriages were about to leave the square, the officers burst into loud shouts again: "Great Ming wins! Win! Win!"

The officers and non-commissioned officer cadets also raised their sabers and shouted twice.

Arrived at the Yulin Army formation.

The soldiers had originally held their muskets upright beside their legs, but as the leading officer shouted, they raised their muskets and held them straight up in front of their chests. The long, shining bayonets were like a forest. "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

"Great Ming will win! Great Ming will win! Great Ming will win!"

Each square cheered twice! The sound was deafening and reached the sky.

There are viewing platforms on both sides of the platform.

On the left sat the princes of Zheng, Zhou, and other vassal states, as well as Duke Chengguo Zhu Xizhong, Duke Yingguo Zhang Rong, and the father-in-law of the emperor, Marquis Yangwu Xue Han, and other nobles.

Seeing this unique new style of military parade, the princes remained silent.

Zhu Xizhong, Zhang Rong, Gu Huan, Tang Shilong and other nobles were discussing the matter enthusiastically.

"There's murderous intent! That's what murderous intent is!"

"Yes, that's murderous! Especially when he took out his gun and pointed it, with so many bayonets flashing out, so cool!"

"Killing spirit is not just about showing off swords and guns, but also about keeping up with the spirit. It is said that the Yulin and Konghe troops who were reviewed today were all on duty in Beijing from the northeast and Luanhe battlefields.

The soldiers from the navy and the marine battalion, or the one that occupied Thang Long City. At first glance, they had walked out of a sea of ​​blood and corpses. That look in their eyes, that proud head, was the courage that only those who had seen blood and had taken lives could have! "

"Relax! Exciting! The military music played by the military band is really inspiring and passionate. The previous music had momentum, but the rhythm was still a bit slow. Compared with this new military music, it's still not as exciting."

"I heard that the snare drums and trombones of this new military band were taught by the Portuguese. I heard that the Western Yi army uses them. Add to that our snare drums, bamboo flutes, and improved copper flutes, and it will be both brisk and intense."

"I heard that the bronze bugle inside was made by craftsmen under the guidance of His Highness. Now the army has a new system. It is used for getting up, going out for drill, ending drill, resting, and attacking and retreating during battle.

It sounds really nice and crisp!"

There was a lot of discussion on the left.

The audience on the right side of the viewing platform was filled with excitement.

Sitting on the viewing stand on the right were student representatives from the Imperial College, Yinian Public School and other schools, led by Li Mingchun, Shen Wanxiang and others.

As they watched this novel and exciting military parade, they felt it was more exciting than reciting "Young China" ten times.

Li Mingchun looked at the figure standing on the carriage in the distance, passing in front of rows of officers and soldiers, standing still amid the overwhelming cheers, and said to Shen Wanxiang excitedly.

"Qianhe, the Zuo Zhuan says that the most important affairs of a country are sacrifice and war. After seeing it today, I realized that the two are actually the same in essence, both of which are about building confidence.

Fighting against the sky is endless fun, fighting against the earth is endless fun, fighting against people is endless fun! With confidence, you can fight against heaven, earth and people, benefit the people of the Ming Dynasty and consolidate the Ming Dynasty forever. "

After the military parade, Zhu Yijun, as the emperor, and Gu Huan and Qi Jiguang, as the governor-general and deputy governor-general of the Beijing camp, hosted a banquet for the guests and the officers and soldiers who had been reviewed.

Accompanied by Gu Huan and Qi Jiguang, Zhu Yijun first went to the barracks restaurant, where he toasted each formation one by one and expressed his condolences to the thousands of officers and soldiers who were reviewing the parade. He also awarded them the Xishan Military Parade Commemorative Medal of the First Year of Wanli.

This was the first modern military parade in the history of the Ming Dynasty and China, and it was of great commemorative significance.

Zhu Yijun then went to the princes and nobles to express his condolences and thank them for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the military parade.

Finally, I went to the seat representing the Imperial College and Yinian Public School.

Zhu Yijun often went to the Imperial College and Yinian Public School to give lectures, and became very familiar with these students.

After accepting their bows and greetings, Zhu Yijun raised his glass and toasted them.

"You have all felt that the Ming Dynasty is changing with each passing day, with all kinds of new things emerging one after another. You should also realize that we are experiencing a major change in the history of thousands of years.

We should not only look up to the Ming Dynasty, but also look further. We will find that the world has become so vast and huge.

The Western barbarians have sailed thousands of miles and traveled all over the world. How can we, the Ming Dynasty, be content to lag behind? We must strive to catch up, and you will be the group of people who create history.

You are not confined to the pile of old papers, but look at the world. You will create peaks for the Ming Dynasty, and let future generations admire you.

You are like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning, and you will eventually shine the light of Chinese civilization to the whole world."

Hundreds of students from the Imperial College and Yi Nian Public School excitedly raised their hands and imitated the officers and soldiers on parade, cheering loudly: "Long live! Long live! Long live!"

After encouraging them, Zhu Yijun talked to Li Mingchun and Shen Wanxiang alone.

Three people, one in front and two behind, walked slowly along the tree-lined path.

There were hundreds of military academies of Fengchensi scattered around.

Zhu Yijun asked curiously, "Why did you come to Xishan?"

Li Mingchun replied, "In reply to the emperor's words. There has been some unrest in the capital recently. Those sour Confucian scholars, with the pedantic students from Dingde, Wenchang and other academies, have been using the excuse of strange phenomena falling from the sky to provoke Yi Nian Public School and the Imperial College from time to time.

They said that the new doctrine we were learning was heresy, which slandered the saints and destroyed Confucianism, brought disaster to the country and the people, and left harm for generations to come, so God sent down strange signs to warn the world.

We will listen to their advice and if verbal fights don't work, we will just switch to physical fights.

But those sour Confucian scholars can't beat us in a fight. It's just that they think God is backing them up this time, so they are arrogant and keep fighting after being defeated, just like sticky candy.

Mr. Zhuo Wu was worried that we might cause more trouble, so he simply moved us all to Xishan, borrowed the Xishan barracks and classrooms of the Xishan Military Academy, and let us come here to give lectures and study.

"I see. Ziyang, Qianhe, you have been teaching for two years. It's time to change places for training. Have you thought about where to go?"

Li Mingchun and Shen Wanxiang looked at each other and answered with a folded hand: "Your Majesty, we are not picky about places. We will go wherever your Majesty tells us to go."

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Qianhe is proficient in economics and good at managing finances, so he should go to the Imperial Household Department first. Wang Ruguan, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, is an expert in managing finances in the court. You should learn from him."

Shen Wanxiang responded respectfully: "I obey your order!"

Zhu Yijun pointed at Li Mingchun and said, "As for you, Li Ziyang, I have found a good place for you, the Xuanzan Bureau!"

Li Mingchun's eyes lit up: "Xuan Zan Bureau?"

(End of this chapter)