Myanmar, Salim Port.
The sound of drums and trumpets continued, and the sound of wind and rain followed one after another. Amidst the din of drums, trumpets, wind and rain, Dashun soldiers wearing blue cloth robes were boarding the Arakanese galley in good order. The tonnage of these galleys is not large, with a load capacity of about a hundred tons. They have double masts and low freeboard. They can be driven by both oars and sails, or they can be driven by oars or sails alone. They are extremely flexible when sailing offshore or in coastal rivers, but their firepower is very weak, usually just a few Fran cannons that can only be used in close combat. But for the Dashun Dynasty, which has no navy and no one up and down who knows how to sail, the more than 300 Arakan galleys currently crowded on the Yangon River and waiting to dock at the dock are definitely 300 What a big baby!
On the pier, in a thatched pavilion that can shelter from the wind and rain, drinks and side dishes were placed. Li Jicheng and Bruce Van Diemen sat opposite each other, drinking and chatting while watching the soldiers of the Dashun Dynasty lining up. Following a neat team, they stepped onto the gangplank and boarded the deck of the Arakan ship.
Most of these soldiers are the so-called "Long March soldiers", that is, soldiers who have served for a long time and received military pay. They are all young men in their twenties. Most of them are the second generation of soldiers. Basically, they are "non-long-term soldiers". "Male" - that is to say, there is no ready-made family property to inherit, no need to bear the responsibility of supporting parents, and you can work outside for a long time.
In Li Jicheng's opinion, these "second generations of the government" who have no family business and no worries are the real young soldiers. They can be enclosed in the military camp and undergo rigorous training.
Therefore, before coming to Myanmar, he asked Li Guo for permission to recruit 15,000 "second generations of the government" with land coupons and Gongzhi Tongbao money.
By the way, the land coupons issued by Dashun have not become waste paper, because in the past few years, the Dashun court has been working hard to honor the land coupons issued to the soldiers with military exploits... even if Using the "land equalization method" to equalize the land of poor peasants will also have to satisfy the land requirements of this group of government soldiers!
Moreover, unless the consent of Fu Bing himself was obtained, the Dashun court would not dare to use Myanmar's land to fool the Fu Bing master.
After nearly 20 years of development, the Dashun Prefecture soldiers have turned into a powerful interest group. Even Emperor Li Guo did not dare to offend them on the land issue!
Of course, this does not mean that no soldiers are willing to settle in Myanmar. Thanks to the efforts of the Dashun court (such as providing relocation subsidies and doubling the land allocation, etc.), many soldiers have been coaxed to settle in Awa and Salian in recent years.
The Gongzhi Tongbao coin is a coin made by the Dashun Dynasty. It is the only copper coin legally circulated in Dashun. It is full of weight and of high value.
The "second generation" who are now boarding the ship have not only practiced martial arts since childhood, but also determined to "prosper Dashun and defeat the Zhu family". They are also inspired by land coupons and joint governance treasures, so they all have their chests and belly bulging out. , morale is extremely high.
In addition to their morale, Bruce was also very satisfied with their equipment and training. The Long March soldiers stationed in Shalian were all trained using the new method, adopting tactics similar to the Morris Square, but the proportion of musketeers was higher, reaching about three-quarters, and only about one-quarter. Soldiers use long guns.
Although the muskets they used were mainly matchlocks, there were also some flintlock muskets, accounting for about 25% of the muskets they equipped.
Whether it is a flintlock gun or a matchlock gun, the quality is relatively reliable. Among them, all the flintlock guns are imported, some are Western goods, and some are goods from the Ming Dynasty - the arms export management of the Ming Dynasty has always been at this level, and it is ignored after being sold...
The matchlocks used by Myanmar's Long March soldiers were produced in Dashun. Each matchlock was engraved with the name of the craftsman. When the musketeers of the Myanmar soldiers received the guns, they would be strictly inspected. If the quality was found to be unqualified, the craftsmen You're going to get slapped!
In addition to the good quality of the firearms, the 3-pound bronze cannon equipped by the Long March soldiers is also very beautifully cast (at least it looks good), and it is also equipped with a very useful gun mount and gun carriage. It is obviously made from captured Ming army Imitation artillery.
In addition, the soldiers of the Long March were also equipped with armor. Although the standards were different (they were self-prepared), including cloth face armor, breastplate, and half-body plate armor, the quality was very reliable.
Obviously, this army is much stronger than the coalition forces of the Tianfang Sultanate that Bruce Van Diemen saw on the Malacca Peninsula.
Although those coalition forces were trained and equipped with the help of the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch were not at ease with the Sultan of Tianfang Sect on the Strait of Malacca! How is it possible to give away your true skills and true treasures?
Moreover, the Tianfang Sultans here in the Strait of Malacca cannot be defeated. Their foundation is just Arab and Persian merchants. They established their own city-state by preaching and buying Gulam Guards. How can their fighting power be compared with that of the Turkic tribes and the Tianfang Sect empire developed from the tribes?
It’s not on the same level at all!
So no matter how hard you teach them, they are just like that, and they can't defeat the Ming army at all... So Dashun has to send troops!
Bruce and Li Jicheng were drinking and chatting. They were very happy and time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was dusk. Bruce was a little top-heavy from drinking and spoke with a loud tongue. When he was complaining that the Tianfang Sect coalition forces on the Malacca Peninsula were all rubbish, he suddenly saw Li Jicheng's military advisor Song Yaowen leading a few soldiers and escorting a man who seemed to be the commander of the Arakan Navy to the pavilion!
The half-drunk Bruce pointed at the tied-up man and yelled: "This man, this man is not the commander of the navy in Arakan, his name is Ming, what is Ming..."
"Call Mingmo Luopo!" Li Jicheng reminded.
"Yes, yes, yes...it's Ming Mo Luo Po!" Bruce asked, "Why did you arrest him?"
Li Jicheng smiled and asked Song Yaowen: "Military advisor, why did you arrest him?"
Song Yaowen said: "Your Highness Taisun, this Mingma Luopo does not understand current affairs and refuses to submit to the Dashun Dynasty!"
"What? Surrender?" Bruce broke out in a cold sweat and was half awake from the wine. "Why do you want him to surrender?"
Li Jicheng smiled: "I just want to ask him to lead the way and lead us to raid Mrauk-U City!"
"Assault on Mrauk-U!?" Bruce Van Diemen was completely stunned.
What is this situation! Aren't you going to Malacca to fight against Ming Dynasty? Why is it that Mrauk U City is about to be attacked in the blink of an eye?
Li Jicheng smiled and said to Bruce: "Mr. Fan, we are really not interested in the Strait of Malacca or Penang... We feel that the territory of Arakan is more real! It is a large area. They are all paddy fields, and they have been cultivated to feed people!"
"You, you..." Bruce Van Diemen was so anxious that he was shaking a little after hearing this, "His Royal Highness, how can you seize the land of Arakan? You just talked to Arakan Let’s form an alliance with the kings of our countries!”
"Yes!" Li Jicheng smiled, "That's why we can carry out a sneak attack! Otherwise, we would have to climb over the mountains. The mountain road is very difficult to walk! Where can I find a comfortable boat ride?"
"You, you are committing banditry!" Bruce roared angrily.
Li Jicheng was not angry, and actually nodded and said: "You are right! This is what bandits do... Mr. Er is a robber! Grandpa is a robber! Ada is also a robber! He is a filial son and grandson. Of course I have to be a robber!"
"You, you, how did you become robbers?" As soon as Bruce Van Diemen said these words, he remembered - Dashun and his gang are robbers! The Ming Dynasty will call them rogues...
What a miscalculation this time! Bruce Van Diemen knew that the East India Company was going to make trouble for these Dashun bandits!
It’s no wonder that the executives of the East India Company took it for granted, thinking that China’s rulers were as trustworthy as Zhu Cixiang. Although Zhu Cixiang was treacherous, his credit was still very good. He had done business with the East India Company for so many years, and he never failed to do so. No regrets about the appointment!
Li Jicheng stepped forward and patted the already stunned Bruce Van Diemen on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Mr. Fan, don't be afraid, I won't harm you... Um, please, please I’m friends with you, the Netherlands. Let’s go and fight Arakan with us!”
