Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Needless to say, Sanyang's calculations are not worth mentioning. The scholar rebellion has not been completed for three years. The people in the cabinet really have no energy at all without Zhu Gaochi.

The results of the examination were spread to Beizhili within a few days. Those who were to be transferred to Nanjing from Beizhili were not only the two ministers, Lu Xiang and Mo Lin, but also many middle and low-level officials.

Blood transfusion, that's it.

Zhu Gaoxu rode a tall horse and led a group of soldiers through the streets and alleys to the camp in the west of the city.

The current scale of Beijing city is far from that of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, and even compared to the Qing Dynasty, in terms of population size and city area, it is far behind.

Yuan Dadu, as one of the ruling centers of the Yuan Dynasty, had a large population.

But after General Xu Da's Northern Expedition, the Yuan Dynasty fled north, taking away a large number of officials, troops, and people, leaving almost an empty city for the Ming army.

After more than twenty years of recuperation in the Hongwu Dynasty, there was some recovery, but the Jingnan War broke out immediately.

The battle to defend the city of Peiping was very difficult, and the local manpower was almost exhausted by successive battles. Today, the streets in Beijing seem a bit empty.

In fact, the current population of Beijing is only about 100,000, which is not as large as the population of Huilongguan community in Beijing in later generations.

Most of the 100,000 people are military personnel, and not many civilians have fled.

"How is the relocation of people from the two chief ministers of Shanxi and Shaanxi going?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked casually.

He is twenty-three years old this year, but he looks much older than his actual age. His skin is much darker than when he was in the south. He has a beard that looks better than his father. He is wearing a dark blue military commander's robe with a waistband. The long sword looks heroic.

"It has already started. It is expected that in the spring of next year, people will gradually migrate here, and there will also be people fleeing the war who will migrate back."

The Battle of Jingnan caused far greater damage to the entire north and the Central Plains than to the south.

The south is not the main battlefield. The only losses are the labor force who were captured as civilians and the soldiers who went to the battlefield. However, the entire Youyan and even the heart of Hebei have been reduced to the main battlefield, and it is the kind of repeated sawing, and the whole thing has become flesh and blood. The mill, especially Zhending, Zhao Zilong's hometown, was a tragedy. The camp of the Zhending camp was not changed, but the soldiers inside were changed one after another like cutting leeks. The soldiers of the Shanxi Commandery Department were They were all exhausted, and even a quarter of the Shaanxi soldiers were empty.

It was precisely for this reason that the Qin and Jin vassals became bigger after the Battle of Jingnan.

The exercise that Zhu Gaoxu was going to visit today was specially prepared to target the Qin and Jin vassals.

Today is the day when the guards in Beijing gather for exercises. The officers of each guard and station have led their troops out of the city to participate. Also present are Wei Guogong Xu Huizu and Zhenyuan Hou Gu Cheng, as well as Beijing Xingbu Shangshu Guo Zi.

As for Licheng Hou Shengyong and Ping An, the two unlucky guys, they are still drinking from the northwest wind on behalf of the north.

That place is not a good place. To the south is the Jin Dynasty and to the north is the Mongolian Tatar tribe. Moreover, they have very few soldiers and horses. If anything changes, it will be the result of being sandwiched between front and rear.

"drive!"

Zhu Gaoxu and his party galloped on their horses. After passing through the city gate, they came to an empty school field in the south. The rumble of horse hooves was also heard from the other side. They saw a group of knights galloping towards them. The leader was a The burly man, about forty years old, wearing iron armor, got off the horse like a tiger descending the mountain. It was Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei.

Away from the depressing atmosphere of Nanjing, although there are no trusted generals around him, Xu Huizu at this time is obviously much more free and easy than when he was in Nanjing.

"The sky is high and the clouds are vast here. There is a lot of pride in the horse singing."

"A good man should be open-minded only if he lives here. After staying in the north for a long time, he doesn't want to go back to Yunnan and Guizhou."

At this time, the old general Gu Cheng also rode forward.

Seeing Gu Cheng coming over, Zhu Gaoxu, who was letting his horse pace freely, tightened the reins, dismounted, cupped his fists and said, "General Gu!"

There was a look of respect on his face, showing extra respect.

Xu Huizu had dismounted early. At this time, he took a few steps quickly to help Gu Cheng dismount, but Gu Cheng turned over on his own and landed neatly on the ground.

"The King of Qin and the King of Jin have been restless recently."

Gu Cheng handed the riding whip to his guards and led the way to the high platform of the school grounds. Unlike the southern habit of building with wood, this high platform was simply made of earth and stone and tamped down.

Xu Huizu did not dare to accept these words, but Zhu Gaoxu had no scruples.

"It's strange that you can stay calm."

If we look at it from the perspective of later generations, it seems that after the Battle of Jingnan, the original King of Yan, Zhu Di, ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, and he firmly established himself in the world.

But actually standing at the end of the first year of Yongle, this is not the case.

First of all, the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen are still unknown. Although he has gone through a series of purges and reforms, the power of Jianwen's old ministers has been greatly reduced, and the most loyal people to Emperor Jianwen have all had their heads chopped off. But no matter what, Jianwen Teito was a truly orthodox emperor, and his influence still exists today.

This so-called influence, of course, does not mean that Emperor Jianwen can still gather troops to resist and return to Dabao if he jumps out, but that if he does not jump out, there will always be people who are nostalgic. Maybe it is more about the new dynasty and the new policy. Dissatisfaction uses this name to gather people's hearts.

If Emperor Jianwen really came out, things would be simple, just send troops to wipe them out.

But he just disappeared!

It's not that Zhu Di didn't send people to investigate, but the problem is that even though he was in poverty and fell into hell, he still couldn't find it.

In this way, although this influence will gradually disappear over time, and after ten or eight years, it will no longer be effective, but it is still disgusting, and most importantly, it gave the prince a chance to oppose Zhu Di excuse.

What Zhu Di feared the most was the Qin and Jin vassals, each of which had tens of thousands of brave and capable veterans.

The Qin and Jin vassals were closer to the throne than Zhu Di in terms of blood and legal principles.

Even if Zhu Biao's line is extinct, it is the lineage of the second eldest Zhu family, King Qin, who should inherit the throne. If King Qin does not succeed, it will be the turn of the lineage of the third eldest brother, King Jin. If we follow the normal patriarchal inheritance order, no matter how we calculate, None of them are from King Yan’s line.

If we don't talk about legal principles and just talk about "the one with strong soldiers and horses will be the king", then things will be very troublesome.

King Yan can sit on this throne, but we, King Qin and King Jin, can’t sit on it?

That doesn't make sense.

Moreover, his strength is much stronger than that of Zhu Di at the beginning of the Jingnan period.

At the beginning of Zhu Di's reign, the three guards were severely weakened and all were transferred out of the fortress, but the Qin and Jin vassals were all in their hands.

The Qin and Jin vassals, because their three bodyguards were all overstaffed, had a total of forty or fifty thousand soldiers and horses, all of whom were veterans who had experienced hundreds of battles, and their territories were connected. Once If we raise troops, Shaanxi, Guanzhong and Shanxi will be connected.

Are you familiar with the combination of Guanzhong and Shanxi?

These are the two geographical units that can naturally form a closed kingdom, and they are the foundation of the overlord.

The Qin Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty all used this to achieve their imperial careers.

If Qin and Jin really join forces, then the Taihang Mountains and Qinling Mountains can be used as city walls, and only a few openings such as Tongguan and Jingxing Road can be guarded.

Once the Qin and Jin vassals complete this separation, they will only have to face Ping'an and Sheng Yong in Daibei, He Fu in Ningxia, and Song Sheng in Gansu. The northern defense line of the empire is obviously more focused on the east than on the west. There are many troops in eastern Liaoning and North Zhili, but few in the west, so it is likely to form a situation like the one during the Jingnan period, and the troops in these places will not have much effect.

During the Jingnan period, the local armies in Shanxi and Liaodong were responsible for flank containment, but after the main force was beaten twice, it was basically useless.

What is the difference between Shanxi and Liaodong at that time and Daibei and Ganning in the future?

These local powerful factions may not necessarily use their full strength. After all, He Fu, Ping An, and Sheng Yong were all from the Southern Army camp during the Jingnan period.

Therefore, if we cannot take a pre-emptive strike and encircle and control the Qin and Jin vassals in their fiefdoms, then it will be really difficult to attack Shaanxi and Shaanxi, which are connected together. Even if we suppress the rebellion, we will have to pay a huge amount of money. price.

Therefore, it is impossible to let go of the Qin and Jin vassals no matter what. This completely predictable future is really too dangerous.

But the Qin and Jin vassals were not stupid either. They could see what the court could see.

Therefore, since this year, the exchange of letters between the Qin and Jin vassals has never stopped.

The previous letter written by Zhu Di, "The Marquis of Jin is lazy and ridiculed, has no descendants" was only a small shock and did not have any substantive effect. Nowadays, the relationship between the Qin and Jin vassals is getting closer and closer. .

The three of them chatted for a few more words, and as they talked, the soldiers and horses assembled for the exercise also took their respective positions.

In a cold weapon exercise, it is naturally impossible to actually take out a knife and do it.

Generally speaking, the infantrymen are running formations, and there are various wooden weapon confrontations, as well as popular wrestling and other programs.

The cavalry is to demonstrate riding skills and mounted shooting.

The troops now under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office of the Remaining Army in Beijing cannot be said to be old, weak, sick or disabled, but there is no need to count on how elite they are. Those who can really fight have been taken to the south by Zhu Di.

I watched it for a long time, mostly watching the excitement.

Seeing that Gu Cheng was getting impatient, Zhu Gaoxu grinned widely and said, "General Gu, you might as well come with me to see something interesting."

"interesting?"

Zhu Gaoxu pulled Gu Cheng to the other side, and Xu Huizu also stood up.

Seeing the generals leaving the scene, the confrontation between wooden weapons and body armor in the audience became more and more relaxed.

The cavalry lined up on the other side, and Zhu Gaoxu and his party headed to the north side of the school ground. There was a shooting range there, but it was the firearms unit's drill.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Bang bang bang!"

After a volley of musketry, the target fifty steps away seemed to have been hit.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu and others coming, a bay-red horse ran over. The man on the horse turned over and dismounted, knelt on one knee and said: "General Qi, the new armor's defense effect is quite amazing!"

Zhu Gaoxu said with satisfaction: "Very good, take us to see it!"

They walked a little further north and saw the target.

It's not quite accurate to say it's a target. To be precise, it's a few sets of armor.

These armors were gifts given to Zhu Gaoxu by Jiang Xinghuo.

Seeing that the outer layer of the armor was somewhat tattered, Xu Huizu was a little puzzled.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't explain, but casually took a brand new set of armor from the other side and asked someone to help him put it on.

In the Cold Weapon Age, especially during the Song, Liao, Jin and Xia dynasties, as the forging technology of armor reached its peak, armor began to become heavier and heavier. For example, the infantry armor of the Song Dynasty consisted of 1825 armor leaves and generally weighed up to 58 Song Jin (1 Song Jin is equal to 1.2 Shijin) or more. This is the result of the Song Dynasty emperor's order prohibiting standard armor to be as heavy as this, and no more weight could be added.

On the real battlefield, in order to complete the armor arms race and have stronger protection than the enemy, the protection is usually increased by increasing the number of armor leaves. The armor of an archer after entering the battle is 66. Since ancient times, archers have often hung on walls. The gunner's armor is 70 songjin, but depending on the battlefield situation, the archer's armor can be increased to 70 songjin and the gunner's armor can be increased to 88 songjin in a short period of time.

This directly led to the fact that the previous Han Dynasty Xiaoxiu armor and the Southern and Northern Dynasties Liangdang armor, which could be worn by one person, basically no longer existed. If a pair of armor was to be completely worn, someone almost had to assist from the side.

After Zhu Gaoxu put it on, he asked Gu Cheng and Xu Huizu next to him: "How does this suit of armor look on me?"

Gu Cheng looked at the armor, then at Zhu Gaoxu, and praised: "This body is really strong! The evil of ancient times cannot be like this."

Xu Huizu smiled and said: "I'm afraid I can compete with Hu Chi."

"Haha!" Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and laughed, "This armor isn't heavy, it's just a little tight."

"Come, Duke Wei, chop me down."

Zhu Gaoxu pulled out the waist knife of the soldier beside him and handed it to Xu Huizu.

Xu Huizu seemed a little embarrassed after hearing this request.

I have never heard such a strange request, but what might happen if Zhu Gaoxu is really chopped?

He would definitely not be hacked to death. Zhu Gaoxu was thick-skinned and wearing armor. If he didn't go to the vital place to greet him, he wouldn't be able to hack someone to death.

"Don't worry about cutting. I've tried it. Can you still be stronger than me?"

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "You just need to cut it and see if you can break through the defense?"

Xu Huizu looked at Gu Cheng.

In terms of title, he is of course one level higher than Gu Cheng. He is a duke and Gu Cheng is a marquis. In terms of military rank, he is a three-star general and Gu Cheng is a five-star lieutenant general.

But these things that do not involve real power are of little use in Beizhili.

Gu Cheng was much older than him. After the death of Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen and the death of Wuding Marquis Guo Ying, he was almost the only remaining founding veteran of Hongwu.

Moreover, Gu Chenggong has done more work and is more trusted by Zhu Di. For Zhu Di, this is the person who can entrust the safety and security of the entire lair.

Now in Beijing, Gu Cheng is also his immediate superior in the governor's mansion of the Rear Guard Army in Beijing.

All in all, Gu Cheng is the biggest here. If Gu Cheng doesn't say anything, he really doesn't dare to cut him.

But at this time, Gu Cheng seemed to be watching the fun and not taking it too seriously. He touched the silver beard and said with a smile: "Cut it."

Xu Huizu had nothing to say, he just said: "Okay."

He took out the long knife, slowly raised it, and pointed it at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu stood there and did not move, allowing him to chop at him. Xu Huizu did not dare to use any force, but felt the blade cut down on the armor. There must still be some distance from the inside, so he could not make an inch forward, as if he was blocked by something.

"Huh"

"Push harder."

Xu Huizu struck again, but it was still the same.

"Use all your strength."

Xu Huizu really didn't believe in evil anymore. He slashed the armor with all his strength with the waist knife in his hand, but the result was still the same. Even the mouth of the waist knife was slightly opened.

Xu Huizu frowned. He looked at Zhu Gaoxu and said, "What kind of material is this armor made of? It can't be broken by any knife."

"The armor pieces are forged from low-phosphorus steel and mixed with molybdenum."

Zhu Gaoxu said mysteriously.

He knew that Xu Huizu definitely didn't understand what low-phosphorus steel was, so he continued to boast: "Ordinary armor is forged from iron. There are very few steel armors. Even if there are, they are made by frying steel." The half-drawn steel produced is far from real steel."

Xu Huizu and Gu Cheng knew this very well.

The cost of steel is very high. Even the unified dynasty can only afford iron armor, not steel armor, in terms of standard armor for the army.

In this case, since the armor pieces are made of steel, it is not surprising that it is so hard.

Zhu Gaoxu's words continued: "The steel used in this armor is several times stronger than ordinary steel! It was smelted by my master using a new steel-making method and special mineral deposits."

"Several times stronger?" Gu Cheng didn't believe it.

Zhu Gaoxu was definitely bragging about the multiple, but Gu Cheng and Xu Huizu really didn't know how much stronger it was.

Seeing that the two of them didn't believe it, Zhu Gaoxu simply asked the soldiers to show them the defensive capabilities of the armor.

Sure enough, no matter whether it is a bow, arrow, spear or iron bone, it is difficult to cause any damage to this new type of armor. Only by using giant axes, sledgehammers, and powerful crossbows can obvious effects be seen.

It is indeed much stronger than ordinary iron armor.

If this is the case, then it seems that it can only be called an enhanced version of the armor. After all, the armor can also defend against bows, arrows and spears, and it also has a mediocre defense effect against heavy blunt weapons and powerful crossbows.

"Several times stronger" seems a bit bragging.

But it's not over yet.

Zhu Gaoxu clapped his hands and asked someone to take out another type of armor.

"This is?"

Looking at the armor in front of them, Gu Cheng and Xu Huizu were a little afraid to confirm.

It looks a bit like cotton nails, but not quite.

Different from the more traditional leather armor, iron armor, and paper armor, because cotton entered China and was planted on a large scale relatively late, cotton armor only began to appear in the late Southern Song Dynasty. After the Mongols destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty was established, cotton armor Large-scale planting began in China. After Huang Daopo popularized cotton technology in the south of the Yangtze River, cotton armor became popular.

Compared with traditional armors such as leather armor, iron armor, and paper armor, cotton armor has some advantages, such as simple production process, low cost, and good cold protection and warmth retention properties. It is especially suitable for the cold northern winter. For the Yuan Dynasty Firearms also have a good defensive effect.

So two types of cotton armor were developed at that time.

A kind of cotton armor is made of cotton layer by layer. It can be called "pure cotton armor". It is made of cotton and cloth. The structure is like a fat cotton jacket. The cloth wraps the cotton and the surface is threaded. Nail it carefully to prevent the cotton from shifting. After sewing it, soak it in water, then step on it with your feet to completely compact it, and then dry it in the sun. This kind of cotton nail must be soaked in water. When pedaling, the tighter the better, so that it is light and easy to use. But it also makes it look like a cotton coat.

According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of cotton armor is made of "seven pounds of cotton, sewn with cloth like a coat, and the arms are stretched hard with feet to ensure that it is not fat and swollen. It is dried in the sun and used. If the rain is not heavy or mildew occurs, A gun cannot break, and a blunderbuss cannot cause serious damage."

Another type of cotton armor is made of cotton, paper, and cowhide. It is generally called "Ji armor." In terms of popularity, it is not comparable to the first type of cotton armor. It is only equipped in small quantities in the south. Details It can be seen in the "New Book of Jixiao" written by Qi Jiguang in the middle of the Ming Dynasty: "Today, to choose those who are more advantageous, the infantry can only seize armor, using silk or cloth. If the paper or cotton are thin, arrows can also penetrate, regardless of lead, today It must be one inch thick. Preparation method: Use a dense silk cloth in front, which can be as long as the knees. If it is too long, it will be inconvenient to cover the body in the mud. If it is too short, it will not be able to cover the body."

But no matter what kind of cotton armor, at this juncture in the early Ming Dynasty, it was always used in conjunction with iron armor.

Because cotton armor or Ji armor uses a defensive layer composed of multiple layers of tough long fibers to resist external attacks, it is ineffective against strong penetrating pokes. Therefore, in actual combat, soldiers will wear iron armor. On the outside, wearing cotton armor on the inside is equivalent to wearing a "bulletproof vest" inside, using two layers of armor to increase the chance of survival.

But the armor in front of him was completely different from the cotton armor that looked like a fat cotton-padded jacket.

Because not only are there layers of copper nails on the outside, but from the inside, it can be seen that they are made of the same material as the armor they chopped just now.

"Foam Nail Cotton Armor!"

Zhu Gaoxu proudly introduced: "First wet the cotton and beat it repeatedly to make a very thin cotton piece, and then embroider multiple such cotton pieces into a very thick and solid cotton cloth. Later, when making the armor, first take a piece of cotton. Line the armor piece with a layer of thick cotton cloth, and then lay a layer of thick cotton cloth outside the armor. After the two layers of cotton cloth wrap the armor piece and sew it, the inside and outside are fixed with copper nails. In this way, the armor is completed. This kind of armor hides the iron armor pieces under the cotton armor, and is tightly wrapped by the cotton cloth so that it is not exposed."

Gu Cheng and Xu Huizu immediately realized that this was equivalent to combining the current cotton armor and tie armor to invent a new armor!

This kind of armor can not only resist fire blunderbuss through the outer cotton sheet, but also resist puncture wounds through the inner steel sheet. The cotton sheet can even provide a certain buffer against blunt force injuries, which perfectly solves the problem of traditional puncture armor. Strong, but weak against blunt weapons and firearms.

In fact, cotton armor (cotton-iron composite armor) made of this kind of cotton-iron composite material should actually be called "cloth-faced iron armor" or "cloth-faced armor". It has very strong defensive power and is very effective against fire and gunfire. , swords, guns, and crossbows all have very good defensive effects and are very suitable for fighting in the north.

Now it was invented in advance by Jiang Xinghuo and given to Zhu Gaoxu as a gift to be tested in the next actual battle.