open sea

Chapter 515
Ni Shangzhong, who stayed in Wangxiazhou, failed to find the trace of Ma Jin and Ma Gui.

For two full months, he exchanged goods and local natives for everything he could find, such as deer and sled dogs, drove out hundreds of sleds, and sent people to search in the ice and snow with luggage. They found Majinma on the northeast island. Gui and others have survived traces, but there is nothing to be found on the ice to the east.

The expedition team carrying thirteen generals of the Ming Dynasty, 230 officers, and thousands of banner troops disappeared into the endless glacier.

They missed the return time and disappeared without a trace.

People say they die this winter.

The imperial court was also very concerned about what happened in the Far East, because the Spanish envoys had been sent from Gao Gong to Guangdong, and from Guangdong to Nanjing, where the signed treaty between the two countries was signed by the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing.

For this purpose, the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing added two members, and transferred Xu Wei and Zhao Shizhen from the Nanyang Army to lead the signing of the treaty.

The Ming Fleet has been able to go directly to America via the more convenient western route, and Chen Mu is still fighting in the southwest, so no one wants to disturb him on such a 'small matter'.

The emperor even personally issued an edict to find them before the water and food of the Magui Majin fleet ran out, and to see the dead and the dead, that is to say, set a time limit for this matter, three months.

Ni Shangzhong knew very well that it was impossible to find Majin Magui in three months.

Ships are not navigable, and it is impossible for them to search for them on foot like a needle in a haystack on the ice with a radius of hundreds of miles. The imperial court gave such an order, and the decision is self-evident-the Ming army will arrive in Mexico from the Spanish route. , Their two-year expedition route was abandoned.

The Ma brothers were also abandoned.

Maybe it won't be long before the water and food that the emperor said is cut off, the court will give them a promotion as a posthumous title.

"I don't believe they are dead. Chen Shuai said that America is just across the sea."

They spent two years training soldiers in Kuwu Island and Wangxia Prefecture, teaching soldiers to read and write, to understand pictures, to be good at fortifications, and to understand medicine. He has great ambitions to cross the North Sea.

Now the imperial court's several orders are all in vain.

The officials sent by the imperial court were exhausted by Ni Shangzhong and stayed in the bitter cold. For a month or two, the sled team from Wangxia Prefecture went to the ice sea to search as usual. Set up a camp at the place where they traced, only to find that the last pier they went to sea has been frozen, and found an abandoned and damaged warship, most of which were frozen in the ice. This is the last news that Ni Shangzhong can get them. .

"The boat was abandoned. It broke down before they went to sea, because not only did they not have any water and food on board, but even the guns were removed. If the disaster is urgent, the guns should remain on board."

Apparently, Ma Gui and Ma Jin changed to other warships there, took them away with the artillery, and sailed to the east.

But to the east, Ni Shangzhong’s people had trouble getting through, because the same problems faced by Ma Gui and others before were now faced by Ni Shangzhong—they didn’t know how far to the east, they didn’t know, and neither did the Spaniards. , no one knows how far to go east from here.

Chen Mu said it was very close based on his impression, but the current situation shows that this is not the case; and judging from the route of the Spaniards, the route is thousands of miles away. It is not impossible for them to transport their luggage to such a distant place. useless.

As March is approaching, Ni Shangzhong is also discouraged. In his opinion, no matter what accident Ma Jin Magui encounters, there must be someone who can walk back on the ice. They bring March food and sled dogs, even if things fail. , and can always send someone back to report.

Not so silent.

Ni Shangzhong's last effort for Majin Magui and his party was to order the Wangxia Prefecture Banner Army to blanch vegetables in hot water and wash the dried meat.

In Beidao, in Wangxia Prefecture and several camps established by the Ming army earlier, they dug ice pits, sealed food in them, and wrote letters on recent changes in the imperial court, leaving behind the signs used by the Nanyang Army.

He didn't know if Ma Jin and Ma Gui would have a chance to come back here, but if he didn't leave food, even if the Ma brothers came back, they would starve to death here.

In late October of the second year of Wanli, the letter sent by the imperial court galloped all the way from the outpost along Kuwu Island to Wangxia Prefecture.

He ordered to posthumously present Dr. Magui Ronglu and Dudu Tongzhi, to grant the widow Yipin Gaoming's wife, to give 200 taels of silver, and to have Yin's son enter a hundred households of Jinyiwei.

The order was given to Dr. Ma Jin Ronglu and the governor Tongzhi, and the widow was given the title of Yipin, the wife of the order, 200 taels of silver, and Yin's son entered the hundred households of Jinyiwei.

The remaining eleven generals each received posthumous awards, silver grants, and meritorious service, and all accompanying generals received pensions.

Ni Shangzhong clutched his orders, as if the Ma brothers had really died.

These edicts determined that the imperial court had determined that the entire expedition fleet was loyal to the country.

Immediately afterwards, there was a transfer order from the Nanyang Military Mansion, except for the three guards of Kuwu Island to stay [-] outdoors each, and the rest of the army was transferred to Ezo, under the command of Chen Bazhi, and divided into two armies, one of which went to Japan to support the battle , one group returned to Luzon, and followed the Xiyi ships to America after the treaty was signed.

The emperor has long been unable to restrain himself from dispatching troops to the other side of the sea. In comparison, no matter Japan, Annan or Burma, these known things can't arouse his interest. soil of.

However, the important officials of the imperial court are exactly the opposite of the emperor in this regard. Compared with the development of America and the lease of Seville, they actually care more about the first half of the treaty. Caravans go to Mexico for trade and more.

As for what Chen Mu wanted, he even did not hesitate to fight to achieve it. If Zhang Juzheng hadn't thoughtfully added two more members to the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, the battle would have been in vain.

What is most important to the court?
From Chen Mu's point of view, there were many small problems in the past three to fifty years of the Ming Dynasty, but there were no major problems at all; Mu didn't care much about the Burmese battlefield, which was indeed the biggest problem for the Ming Dynasty.

This issue directly depends on the letter sent by Chen Mu to the court, which is related to the distribution of Ming’s interests in Burma and Annan after the war, and thus the hope that the Japanese battlefield is not an unintentional war.

People all over the world are waiting for this answer sheet, waiting for the Ming army to make three announcements and six comforts like a tiger coming out of the cage, farmers are waiting, handicraftsmen are waiting, wealthy merchants are waiting, local officials are waiting, and court officials are also waiting The civil servants are waiting, the military officials are waiting, those who are optimistic or not are waiting, waiting for the result of this battle, and also waiting for the changes to Ming after the war.

In this case, the Ma brothers, who were shivering in the bitter cold wind and struggling to build a camp under the mountain named Water Lake Peak in Amerika, were obviously not important.

They don't think they are important either, they just send people to and from the frozen fleet time and time again, relying on sled dogs to transport wounded soldiers, water and food, artillery, ammunition, and even the last ship planks again and again. Back to shore.

Everything about America in the Ming Dynasty began with the seven hundred remnant soldiers who landed at the foot of the American Water Lake Peak in the winter of the second year of Wanli.

(End of this chapter)