First Prince of Ming Dynasty

A country at this stage cannot be subdued by a few simple fights. Its rulers, nobles and common people have all tasted the taste of being a hegemon and the rich benefits, and they will never give up easily.

Xu Da pondered for a moment and said: "When I visited the southwest the year before last, I remember hearing about the military system in this country."

"It is also a soldier in wartime, and a farmer in leisure time. One out of three or five out of five. When marching and fighting, there is no such thing as marching in formation, and there is no way to form an array to face the enemy.

In wartime, the front horse, the second elephant, and the second infantry, the elephant is covered with armor, and the battle tower is carried on its back, with large bamboo tubes on both sides, and dozens of short spears are placed in it, and the elephant riders take it and stab it. "

"The elephant soldiers are fierce and unstoppable, especially for those who have never seen an elephant." Xu Yungong further explained: "But after all, they are only livestock, and they are afraid of fire and sound. As long as you prepare in advance, you can restrain yourself."

When Xu Yungong accompanied the army to conquer Yunnan, Liang Wang also had elephant soldiers in his tent, but the number was not large. At the beginning, they posed a great threat to the Ming army, but after mastering the habits, they were not worth mentioning.

Moreover, elephant soldiers are difficult to raise, and there are occasional incidents of wounding people and rushing backwards. In Xu Yungong's view, the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, but many countries in the southwest love to breed elephant soldiers in the army.

Zhu Biao nodded slightly and turned to ask: "How about Bingjia?"

On the battlefield, armor is the most important thing. Xu Da only listened to it when he was patrolling the southwest, but didn't study it carefully. After all, the imperial court didn't even recover Yunnan at that time, so he didn't have to care about Luchuan, a country outside the border.

"The rumors are mostly leather armor and bronze armor. I don't know if it is true."

Xu Yungong replied: "Exactly, there are many copper and iron mines in the country, and the hot iron is easy to rust, so the armor of the people in Luchuan mostly has copper armor, or copper and iron are mixed with each other. Use javelins, not strong bows, and no firearms."

Luchuan already had mines, plus they controlled the trade routes between Central and South Asia and South Asia, and had considerable financial resources, so the armor rate was extremely high.

Zhu Biao narrowed his eyes and said: "Tomorrow, you can go to the firearms construction department outside Beijing to have a look, maybe there is something you can use."

"promise."

With the support of Zhu Biao, and also under the personal supervision of the king of Chu, Zhu Yan, the development of firearms is amazing, but because the firearms are not easy to move lightly, and there is no big battle, it has not been revealed.

But on the issue of Luchuan, it is both an elephant and an iron armor, so Zhu Biao will naturally not continue to hide.

Xu Da's eyes lit up. As a pillar of the Ming Dynasty, he naturally knew many things that ordinary officials did not know. When he returned to Beijing last year, he accompanied the emperor's escort to the Department of Firearms Construction.

If it can be used, then the battle in the future, or most of the foreign wars, will be much, much easier.

………

Zhu Biao sent his wife and children back to the East Palace, changed his clothes by the way, and then walked towards the Jinshen Hall unhurriedly, thinking about the silver mine in Dongying.

After entering the room, Lao Zhu was talking with Dali Temple and the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment. After hearing a few words, it was still about the issue of corruption among officials. After a brief ceremony, Zhu Biao sat in his seat to review the memorial.

It didn't take long for the second minister to resign, and Lao Zhu stood up angrily and walked around twice. Zhu Biao was not surprised. Do you have to be greedy for money?

"Biao'er, this Zhang Guanglie is not someone who can be the minister of Dali Temple, but an imperial imperial envoy."

Integrity is good, but stubbornness is also very disturbing. There are many corruption cases, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice tried almost all of them, but they were all dismissed by Zhang Guanglie because they lacked this or that. up.

Zhu Yuanzhang is now using heavy codes to deal with corruption, and what he wants is lightning, not procrastination, which reduces the most important deterrent.

If it was someone else, it would have been swept away long ago, but Dali Temple has always been allocated to the prince's private plot to cultivate confidant talents, and Lao Zhu has to take care of his son regardless of other things.

"My son originally planned to let Yan Donglai regain control of Dali Temple after he recovers, but unexpectedly, Yan Donglai followed Mingsheng to Sichuan to take up his post."

"Since father feels that Zhang Guanglie is not suitable to be in charge of Dali Temple, then he will be dispatched as an imperial envoy to inspect the drought in the north. The position of Minister of Dali Temple can be replaced by Cen."

"Well, good, let's do it like this."

Yu Cen, the current Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Punishment, can also be regarded as an old minister from Conglong. He is honest and steady, good at criminal and people's livelihood, but he is nearly 60 years old, but fortunately he is in good health and has no symptoms.

It is enough to hold the position for several years, and when Guo Chong and Li Jin have enough qualifications in the center, they can take over smoothly. Presumably, with Yu Cen's character, the emperor will be comfortable with it.

"What did the Xu family say about Luchuan?"

After Zhu Biao got up and answered, he waited for his father to sit down before he sat down: "I asked Yun Gong to go to the Firearms Construction Department tomorrow."

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile: "Finally I am willing to use it, okay, just let the Southwest Fan Kingdom have a look, what is the magic weapon Tianwei."

"The small country of Luchuan has a crude political system. Almost every time the throne is changed, it has to go through a series of internal struggles. The power of local officials is also a bit too large. The military and government are integrated, and it is easy to have a separatist regime. Coupled with the magic soldiers The power of firearms, hum."

"By the way, speaking of it, it's time for you to hold the Crown Ceremony next year. We've ordered the Ministry of Rites to arrange it, and your uncle will preside over it."

"My son has already received the grace of my father to participate in political affairs, so there is no need to make a fuss about the crowning ceremony."

According to the weekly system, men perform crown ceremony at the age of 20. The so-called crown ceremony begins with the ancient sage king's heavy crown. The honor of the crown is so important, and the heavy ceremony is the foundation of the country!

In Zhou Dynasty, when the reigning king died, the eldest son could take the throne no matter how old or young he was, but he could not take charge if he was underage. King Cheng of Zhou succeeded King Wu when he was young, but the Duke of Zhou was regent until he became an adult. Qin Shihuang Emperor Yingzheng took the throne of Qin at the age of thirteen, but it was not until he was twenty-two, when he reached the crown and brought a sword, that he took charge of the government and swept the six kingdoms.

That is to say, the crown ceremony is the capital of adulthood, and it is impossible to rule people without performing the crown ceremony.

It is said that in the past dynasties, the vast majority of princes could only get involved in political affairs after the crown ceremony, but in fact, they were still restricted and restricted by the emperor in many ways.

But Zhu Biao's body is different. Whether he can perform the crown ceremony or not is no longer a matter of concern.

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "The five rites in the former Yuan Dynasty were all practiced according to the national customs, but the sacrifices were a little out of date with the ancients, and it was difficult to perform the crown ceremony for a hundred years. You are the prince of the Eastern Palace, and you should be an example for the world."

"It's my son's negligence, and my father is far-sighted."

…………

Early the next morning, after seeing his daughter, Xu Yungong hurried to the Firearms Manufacturing Department outside Beijing, but he was blocked outside the door and could not enter, even if it was said that it was the permission of His Royal Highness, the guards would not Let people in.

"My lord, don't embarrass us. We really dare not let him go until we see the Crown Prince's warrant."

Xu Yungong also knew that they were responsible, so he had to go back to Beijing to ask for the prince's handwriting in the East Palace. He met the displeased King Chu just halfway there.

"I have seen His Royal Highness the King of Chu."

Xu Yungong quickly got off his horse to salute, Zhu Yan also jumped off his horse and went up to him and gave him a light thump: "Run there before dawn, why, can the Firearms Department have something more precious than your daughter's piece of jade? "

"Your Highness was joking, Luchuan was staring at him, and my minister was also anxious, thinking that even if he had some magical weapons, he had to be familiar with the drills with the soldiers, and the arrangements should be made earlier, so that he would be less damaged during the war."

"That's true, it's a pity, my king also wants to go to the southwest to see it."

Speaking of which, Zhu Yan took out the handwritten letter from his arms and said: "It happened that Liu Jin was leaving the palace to deliver a letter to you, and this king intercepted it, thinking that he would come with you, but I didn't expect to go to the door of the house to ask, and you had already left. "

"But take it, the firearms department is very strict now, even if you don't have a handwritten letter, even this king can't take you in and out at will."

"Please Your Highness."

The two of them got on their horses, and under the guard of a group of guards of the palace, they galloped towards the firearms department. The peddlers who went back and forth on the road with their wealth behind their backs had long been used to it. At this time, it was the time when Prince Chu went to the yamen, so he had to avoid it.

……………