Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 75 The Two Zhous and Two Zhangs of Donglin: A Slanderous Speech (Part 2)

Zhu Jue discovered that it seemed like the two Zhou brothers from Donglin were going against him.

The next morning around 7 a.m., he had just finished reviewing a few memorials when he came across Liu Zongzhou's memorial.

This guy said that Wei Zhongxian forcibly seized land, and that Tongzhou City was occupied by him, leaving tens of thousands of ordinary people homeless. He said that many people would freeze to death on the streets this winter.

what do you know?
After reading it, Zhu Jue simply tossed the memorial aside.

There's no need to ask Liu Ruoyu and Wang Chengen; the implication is that they'll keep the money in reserve and not issue it.

After reviewing several memorials, he came across Huang Daozhou's memorial.

This guy actually said that he didn't use capable and virtuous men with outstanding military achievements like Sun Chengzong, Yuan Keli, and Yuan Chonghuan, but instead used men like Wang Zhichen, Sun Chuanting, and Lu Xiangshan who couldn't fight!

What do you know?
After reading it, Zhu Jue snorted coldly and tossed the memorial aside.

He wouldn't pay any attention to those two sycophants, but the problem is, they're like flies buzzing around every day, which is really annoying.

Are we to let Wei Zhongxian deal with these two guys?

That certainly won't work.

These two guys are renowned figures in the intellectual circles, and among the hotheads, they are the leading figures.

If he were to send Wei Zhongxian to deal with these two guys, the upright and hot-headed young men in the court would definitely fight him to the death.

Besides, he has no one else to rely on. It's not the right time to deal with the Donglin Party and the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party. If he were to deal with those two, it would definitely alert the enemy.

When that happens, Han Kuang will definitely be the first to run away!
He couldn't let the leader of this traitorous traitor escape.

These two flies are buzzing around, so we'll just have to put up with it for now.

After hastily reviewing the memorials, he led Wang Chengen, Fang Zhenghua, and others straight to the northeast corner of the eastern city.

At this moment, Lu Xiang-sheng had already conscripted 50,000 infantrymen from the capital garrison, and they were training there.

If these 50,000 infantrymen are well trained, not only will the safety of the capital region be ensured, but it will also give the Jurchens a big surprise.

This route leads directly to the area where farmers and military households whose land had been requisitioned in the eastern part of the city are building their homes.

The houses of farmers and soldiers are basically finished, and the houses of artisans are almost finished too. When he moves all these farmers, soldiers and artisans to the southeastern city, the houses of ordinary people in Tongzhou City will definitely be finished in a month at most.

Liu Zongzhou clearly didn't understand the situation and was talking nonsense.

As he looked around, he soon arrived at the East City Military Training Ground.

The East City Parade Ground is truly enormous, with tens of thousands of rows of houses densely packed around it, and the parade ground itself covering thousands of acres.

On the drill ground, the 50,000 infantrymen of the Beijing garrison were all lined up in neat square formations. Some were practicing their formations, some were practicing their tactics, and some were even practicing pushing armored carts and arranging them into various formations.

It seems like the bearings on this Wugang car haven't been replaced yet, right?

He hurriedly rode his horse to the foot of the towering command platform in the middle, where Lu Xiang-sheng, Sun Ying-yuan, Zhou Yu-ji, and Huang De-gong were already waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he couldn't help but ask, "Jian Dou, this chariot is very difficult to push because the bearings haven't been replaced. Why did you bring it over for them to push?"

Lu Xiang-sheng quickly explained, "Your Majesty, they will eventually be trained as chariot soldiers. It's good to let them get familiar with the chariots sooner rather than later. As for how difficult it is to push, that's not a big deal. It's training anyway, and it can also help them develop their strength."

Hmm, you really know how to train troops.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then climbed onto the command platform, which resembled a high pavilion, and glanced around before asking, "Why are all these soldiers armed with spears and lances? Aren't there any swordsmen or archers?"

Well, the Ministry of War's armory doesn't have those things.

Lu Xiang-sheng said with some helplessness, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War's armory doesn't have many swords and bows. Last time, it almost exhausted the supplies for 10,000 cavalrymen. Right now, the armory only has some spearheads and lances left. I can only let them practice with these for now."

However, besides pushing carts and firing muskets, the chariot soldiers mostly use spears and lances. I'll have them lengthen the shafts of their spears and lances, making them eighteen-foot spears and lances; that will surely send the Jurchens sprawling.

That's true. The front of the chariot only had a small round hole, so you couldn't use swords or bows. You could only use firearms, crossbows, spears, or lances.

However, these swords and bows also need to be provided. After all, there are only so many people standing inside the chariots, and the others can also launch attacks from behind the chariots with considerable firepower. Also, if the Jurchens fight their way into the chariot formation, their five- or six-meter-long spears and lances will be difficult to penetrate. Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then decisively said, "It just so happens that the craftsmen's own residences are almost finished. I will have Marquis Meng recruit a group of craftsmen to have some swords and bows made for you in the machine factory. As for firearms and armor, those will have to wait."

Besides muskets, they also have armor. If they were fully equipped, the chariot soldiers of the Beijing garrison would be terrifying in combat.

Lu Xiang-sheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

What is this.

Zhu Jue looked up again and saw that rows of smoke were already rising from the barracks, and many soldiers had scattered to go back and cook.

It's almost noon, time to cook.

It's a good opportunity to check on the soldiers' meals.

He waved his hand decisively and said, "Jiandou, let's go and see how the soldiers are eating and living."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang-sheng quickly led him towards the barracks on the west side.

The barracks were built in neat rows, with about ten rooms in each row, back to back, with a wide passageway in the middle. The cooking stoves were built under the eaves and each had a chimney.

Lu Xiang-sheng led him directly into a barracks and then introduced, "Your Majesty, these are communal sleeping areas on both sides, with five people sleeping on each side. The long table in the middle is for meals."

And then, that was it!
The barracks were simple: two bunk beds made of bricks on either side, and a long table made of wooden planks in the middle, with no other furniture.

Zhu Jue examined them closely, then asked with concern, "How do they keep warm in winter?"

That would naturally be achieved by heating a kang (a traditional heated brick bed).

Lu Xiang-sheng pointed to several obviously loose bricks under the communal sleeping platform and said, "Your Majesty, coal can be burned under these sleeping platforms. Once the heated kang (traditional heated brick bed) is lit, it will definitely be very warm inside."

Oh, so you can heat it up inside this heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).

Zhu Jue looked at the loose bricks and frowned slightly, saying, "Jian Dou, gas can kill people. Your door wasn't sealed properly to begin with. If the gas has nowhere to escape, won't it all seep into the house?"

I know this.

Lu Xiang-sheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the connection under this kang (heated brick bed) leads to the stove outside, and the gas is directly discharged from the chimney outside. As for this opening, I have already ordered a batch of iron stove doors from Marquis Meng, but they are not yet finished, so I ordered people to block it with bricks for now."

So you've already thought of all that, that's good.

As they were talking, the soldiers who were cooking outside brought in steamed buns, porridge, fish soup, and other dishes.

Upon seeing this, Lu Xiang-sheng surprisingly invited, "Your Majesty, why don't you sit down and eat with us?"

We've all sat down, so where are the others sitting?

Zhu Jue glanced at the somewhat cramped space inside, shook his head slightly, and said, "I'm not that hungry yet. Why don't we let them eat first, and we'll wait outside? We can also have someone prepare some more food for them to eat after they've finished."

Lu Xiang-sheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, no need. This is where I and General Sun live. This row of barracks is where our personal guards live. I have asked them to cook extra food. The people you brought can also eat together. It will be fine if we squeeze into each barracks."

You guys are sleeping in the dormitory here too!

When commanders and generals eat and live with their soldiers, the soldiers will be able to command them with ease and their morale will be high.

Not bad.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then gestured for Wang Chengen and the others to squeeze in and sit down. He then served himself a bowl of fish soup and tasted it.

This fish dish, with the addition of ginger and scallions, tastes both fresh and fragrant, quite good.

However, just eating fish wasn't enough; he also needed to find a way to provide his soldiers with beef and mutton so that they could become stronger.

The problem is, with their current forces, they can barely hold onto Jiliao; it's far from enough to seize the grasslands.

It looks like we need to step up our efforts, make more money, and recruit more people.

(End of this chapter)