Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

The capital city, Chaoyang Gate.

"So it's Lord Qin. I was mistaken. Please forgive my poor eyesight."

The 100-household commander of the Beijing garrison, on duty at Chaoyang Gate today, handed his waist token back to Qin Fang, then turned and reprimanded the soldiers who were preparing to inspect the goods on the cart and extort money.

"You blind fool, let it pass right now!"

Soon, several large vehicles passed through the city gate and headed towards Dong'anmen.

We've finally arrived in the capital!

As the red walls and golden tiles of the imperial city became clearer, Qin Fang's excitement grew.

Before leaving Ningbo for Malacca, I never imagined that my next meeting with His Highness would be in the capital, within the imperial city!

Only half a year has passed, and the situation has changed so much. His Highness has been summoned to the capital by the Emperor to assist the Crown Prince in overseeing the country!

How old is the crown prince?

A five-year-old child, let alone acting as regent, probably wouldn't even understand what "regent" means.

Although Your Highness does not hold the title of Regent, you are in fact the Prince Regent.

The officer at the city gate, a centurion of the Beijing garrison, was clearly a sixth-rank military officer, yet he addressed himself as "your subordinate" in front of me, a seventh-rank captain of the Prince of Ying's Palace Guard.

The military officers of the Prince's Palace Guard were not taken seriously by anyone except in the prince's fiefdom.

But now, he has become the object of flattery and fawning by officials of higher rank than himself.

My cousin, Commander Gao, really had a keen eye back then!

Arranging for fifty-five people, including himself, to serve under His Highness, who was then the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a stroke of genius.

Currently, a large majority of His Highness's trusted subordinates come from the Linqing Embroidered Uniform Guard's Thousand-Household Division.

That was a brilliant move!

. . .

Southern Palace, Chonghua Palace.

"Your Highness, we are ashamed."

Miao Feng and Tang Zhe reported to Lu Chen.

"The boys have been practicing the techniques for over a month, but none of them have yet developed a sense of qi."

"This matter cannot be rushed; let them continue their training."

Lu Chen waved his hand.

"Tell them that whoever is the first to develop internal strength will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and granted a hereditary title of centurion."

After learning from Xue Ting how the two types of internal energy were cultivated, Lu Chen changed his strategy.

Internal martial arts techniques are like opening a blind box; those with exceptional talent may be able to sense the Qi within one or two months, or even less than a month.

Those with decent aptitude will need to train for a much longer period, ranging from several months to several years.

However, most people will not achieve any results even if they practice for a lifetime.

If one ultimately fails to find the feeling of Qi and cultivate internal strength, all the time and effort invested in cultivation will be wasted.

I, Miao Feng, and Tang Zhe have been practicing for over a month without any progress.

Clearly, none of the three were particularly gifted in practicing internal martial arts, and at least they were not suited to the particular technique taught by Xue Ting.

Whether continuing to practice will yield results is completely uncertain.

Lu Chen didn't want to waste his time and energy on something with such a low probability of success.

As a time traveler, I am well aware of the harm that prolonged sitting can cause to the body.

After learning that the ordinary martial arts passed down by Miao Feng and others were actually so-called external martial arts techniques, Lu Chen suddenly realized the truth.

It turns out that he had already begun practicing the external martial arts techniques he had learned from his subordinates when he was in Linqing.

Instead of meditating and practicing internal martial arts to gamble on luck, it's better to continue practicing external martial arts. Even if you can't develop external internal strength, at least you can improve your health.

Moreover, these are genuine fighting techniques. Even without developing internal strength, meaning with only the strength of an average person, they can still be used in actual combat.

As for internal martial arts techniques, although Lu Chen no longer intended to waste time on them, he did not give up on them.

If you don't want to practice yourself, you can make your subordinates practice!

Lu Chen ordered Tang Zhe and Miao Feng to divide their hundred men into several groups and have them practice the internal martial arts techniques offered by several Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).

It's not easy to find someone with excellent aptitude and a perfect fit for the technique. It's expected that there won't be any results after only a little over a month of practice.

Let them keep practicing. Who knows, maybe by sheer luck someone will find the Qi sensation and develop internal strength.

"Your Highness."

Yang Bingzhong walked to Lu Chen's side.

"Commander Qin has returned and is requesting an audience outside the palace."

. . .

Chonghua Palace, study.

"It hasn't even been a year since I last saw you in Chengtian Prefecture, and you've gotten so much darker."

Lu Chen looked Qin Fang up and down; his skin had darkened several shades.

"It seems the sun over the sea is really powerful."

"Your Highness, the weather in the South Seas is truly hot."

Qin Fang quickly replied,

"I never imagined that during the coldest winter months in the Ming Dynasty, it would be as hot and unbearable as midsummer there."

There are no four seasons in that area; it's summer all year round, with only a rainy season and a dry season.

"That's how it is, being in the tropics."

Lu Chen laughed.

"In fact, there are also such places within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, such as Yazhou under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou Prefecture, and some areas in southern Yunnan, which have this kind of climate."

How did the trip to Malacca go? Did the establishment of the trading post proceed smoothly?

"Your Highness, I have set sail from Shuangyu Port with more than ten large Fujian ships and nearly a thousand men, together with two Western ships belonging to the Portuguese Lansalo Pina."

Qin Fang began his report.

"After sailing at sea for nearly forty days, they finally arrived at Malacca, the city of the Franks in Southeast Asia."

In Malacca, I met the local "Kapitan Ma" Belu Phiri.

This man was appointed by the Frankish King to have full authority over the military and political affairs of Malacca.

During my stay in Malacca to establish a trading post, I secretly sent my men to investigate the situation there.

This place was originally the capital of the Malacca Sultanate, and the Portuguese had only occupied it for thirty years.

Although the capital of the Malacca Sultanate fell, it did not truly perish.

Prince Alauddin Riyadh rebuilt the royal court in Johor, south of Malacca, establishing the Kingdom of Johor. Under the guise of restoring the kingdom, he waged war against the Frankish people for many years.

The Portuguese garrison in Malacca was not large, only about five or six hundred men, but they were all equipped with matchlock muskets, and many cannons were also deployed in the city.

In addition, there are many Portuguese merchants residing in the city, and the number of mixed-race children born to Portuguese and locals over the past thirty years is close to two thousand.

These people also possessed firearms, and in the event of war, they would be conscripted by the "Kapitan Ma" to participate in the defense of the city.

Johor has never gained the upper hand in any of its attacks.

It wasn't until the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign that the two sides ceased hostilities and made peace, enjoying several years of tranquility.

Besides Johor, which has always wanted to reclaim its former capital, there is also Aceh, a large island to the south across the sea, which is also eyeing Malacca.

In the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign, the Kingdom of Aceh mobilized 3,000 troops to launch a night attack on Malacca City, but they were discovered by the Portuguese garrison.

Subsequently, the Aceh army besieged Malacca and launched a fierce attack for several days without success.

I heard in Malacca that Aceh is still not giving up and is preparing for war at home. I don’t know when they will cross the sea again.

Although Johor has made peace with the Portuguese, Malacca is their former capital, so this is probably just a delaying tactic.

This Portuguese city of Malacca was actually an isolated city surrounded by powerful enemies.