However, because the Ming Dynasty occupied a large territory, especially after occupying the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, it had to send troops to garrison various castles and maintain local security. Therefore, only about 300,000 main troops were left able to fight on the move.
Therefore, compared with the European Alliance Army, the Ming Dynasty's advantage in military strength is not very obvious.
Zhu Youxiao also considered this issue, so his instructions to Zhou Yuji and others who were in charge of the westward advance were to try their best to eliminate the new European forces. Unless necessary, there was no need to attack large Western cities.
Most of the big cities in the west now have bastion structures. If they were to be conquered by force, even if the Ming army had artillery and nitrous explosives, it would consume a lot of troops and cannon fodder.
Therefore, after Zhou Yuji annihilated more than 200,000 fresh troops in Europe, he was ready to continue to use the strong organization of his Ming army to engage in mobile warfare with the European Allied forces.
"Our advantage is that the serfs who have rioted in various places support us, and the officials we have sent can guide them to provide supplies, cover, intelligence, and transportation support to our army. In addition, we also have the advantage of having weapons."
Warsaw city.
The main generals of the Western Expedition Ming Army who have moved their base camp to this place are currently discussing the next battle plan here.
At the meeting, the fifth prince Zhu Cizhuo was analyzing and summarizing the advantages of his Ming army, and therefore suggested: "So, I think we should use this advantage without carrying heavy weapons, such as steam tanks. , pack-loaded howitzers, etc. These heavy weapons can only travel on roads. This requires our army to organize people to build roads before setting off. In addition, the supply requirements are high, so it is better to discard them and continue to carry only one weapon per person. Guns, some dry food such as rice and noodles, as well as easy-to-carry thunderbolts and explosive packs, and at most one horse, so that you can travel lightly through the countryside that has submitted to the rule of the Ming Dynasty, and be led by local serfs , maybe they know the terrain better than Europe's own army. The treatment of the wounded and the supply of grain, grass and ammunition can all be handed over to the serfs in various places, so that they can set up supply depots and transport teams to support us at any time. In this way, my main force will only be responsible for fighting, even if It’s a continuous battle, I’m afraid it’ll be fine.”
"Abandoning heavy weapons and using light vehicles is a good idea!"
Therefore, Zhou Yuji couldn't help but ask Zhang Huangyan, the newly appointed chief instructor of the Western Expeditionary Army: "Can local officials mobilize the serfs who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty to provide such support to my main force, as His Highness the Fifth Prince said?"
After Zhang Huangyan thought for a while, he stood up and said: "When I return to the Duke of Heguo, it's no problem, I'll just leave it to you!"
"Well, after the army leaves Warsaw this time, we will do as His Majesty the Fifth did and leave all the heavy firearms behind! In addition, bring more silver coins so that when the time comes to requisition food on the spot, you can buy it directly with money."
Zhou Yuji ordered at this time.
"Wait, why not write an IOU? It's too troublesome to bring silver coins! As long as the general's office recognizes these IOUs, the money and food are in charge of the lower officials anyway, so the lower officials will naturally recognize them."
Zhang Huangyan replied.
Zhou Yuji nodded: "Okay!"
…
"These Easterners will definitely launch a large-scale attack next! But they are different from the Ottoman Empire's army. They are not interested in conquering the castle. They are only interested in our countryside and serfs. This means that our castle will no longer No matter how strong it is, it can no longer play a role in blocking his army!"
After several battles with the Ming army, King Leopold VI, the commander-in-chief of the European Alliance Army, had to summon the main nobles of the Alliance Army to discuss carefully how to deal with the Ming army's subsequent expansion.
"That's right. How could we call these Orientals despicable? They actually thought of buying these serfs to carry out their expansion goals. They even used the fields to buy these serfs and then Chineseized them, in the name of the emperor's human rights. , making them believe that people are born to resist oppression! They incited all these serfs to become unruly people!"
At this time, the Elector of Saxony Jan George responded and said.
"That's it. With the support of these serfs, these Ming armies can maneuver and fight unscrupulously deep into our European hinterland without worrying about their supply lines being cut off. It can be said that these serfs who betrayed our Europe have become the means by which they can drive straight into our hinterland of Europe." Foundation!”
Prince Eugen of the Habsburg dynasty also agreed and suggested: "So, if we want to defeat the Ming army, we must destroy their foundation! If we want to stop the Ming army on this long front, it will be very difficult. What is difficult to do is that no one knows where the Ming army will suddenly appear next. Instead of doing this, it is better to jointly exterminate the rioting serfs in the hinterland, give them the most severe punishment, burn all the food of these serfs, and kill them. With these serfs alone, if the Ming army comes back to our hinterland of Europa, there will be no foundation, and they will even retreat automatically due to lack of supplies!"
"This is a good idea! It's time to teach these serfs who betrayed our European civilization a long time ago!"
Yang George agreed, and then looked at Leopold VI and other European nobles.
These nobles all agreed.
As a result, the European Union Army began to attack the serfs who were launching riots across Europe.
Although the European army was no match for the Ming army, which had entered the age of rifled guns, it was still easy to suppress the rioting civilians and serfs.
After all, the European army at this time had just experienced the Thirty Years War, and its combat quality was still good. Frontal combat was naturally more formal than ordinary serfs who had just taken up arms.
Therefore, when these European armies concentrated on dealing with these serfs, they achieved very good results.
The serfs who launched a riot near Budapest and seized the noble estates were brutally suppressed by the European Allied Forces.
A large number of serfs were buried alive or even burned alive.
The people who organized the serfs to launch a rebellion were also tied to crosses by the nobles from various European countries and prepared to be burned to death.
However, at this time, an organizer from the Ming Dynasty who was also the temporary magistrate here named Cen Weiming took the initiative to question when he was being interrogated by Count Chirac:
"You selfish and ignorant barbarians! Have you never thought about the consequences of burning us Huang Ming citizens to death?! You must know that my Majesty, the Ming Emperor, has already made it clear to the world that anyone who kills our Huang Ming citizens will have their country cease to exist. The nobles will all be executed in languid chi! If you dare to be disrespectful to us in the slightest, you must be prepared to be executed in languid chi in the future by my Majesty the Ming Emperor!"
As he spoke, Cen Wenming laughed fearlessly: "Earl, you should know that the possibility of you being able to stop the Ming Empire from advancing westward is very slim! Even if I, the Ming Dynasty, cannot annex all of your European lands, can you Do you think you can escape revenge by angering me, the Ming Emperor? The current fate of the Kingdom of Spain is an example, and the Kingdom of England is also an example. Their king Charles II was cut in half. I think you should listen to it. said."
Silk couldn't help feeling a chill down his back after hearing this. He was really worried that the Ming Kingdom would retaliate in the future, and he did not dare to doubt that the Ming Emperor would not dare to retaliate because several Ming people were killed. After all, the Kingdom of Spain and England The outcome is there. Now England, France, and Spain even dare not join the Alliance Army because they are afraid of Ming's retaliation.
Therefore, Silk had no choice but to order: "Put down all the Easterners first and imprison them temporarily, but provide sufficient food!"
Then, Silk came to the Allied Army's headquarters in Budapest, relayed Cen Wenming's words, and suggested:
"Everyone! It is impossible for us to destroy the Ming Empire in the East. We just hope that it will give up its expansion ambitions, so we should not completely offend him. In this case, I propose that when suppressing the serf uprising, we should suppress the serfs and civilians in our country. Treat us differently from the Easterners, lest in the future, the Ming Dynasty will not use this as an excuse to stop its expansion and continue to make things difficult for us."
The reason why Silk also mentioned civilians was because many civilians who were not serfs joined the riots because of class conflicts, and there were even civilians with better backgrounds.
"I agree with this proposal. Although these Easterners have instigated rebellion against our serfs, they should not be punished by us. We should treat them with courtesy to avoid greater disputes and reduce our sins before God."
said King Leopold VI.
George Yang also followed up and said: "Then issue an order. In future military operations, the Easterners who are captured alive should not be executed. After being captured alive, they should be treated and explained, and then sent to the Netherlands, the area they rule!"
Most European nobles agreed.
As property owners, when dealing with outsiders from the Ming Dynasty, they showed a certain degree of cowardice because they were concerned about their own interests.
On the contrary, this allowed Ming Dynasty to avoid losing a group of grassroots backbones sent to these places.
However, they were not so polite to the serfs and civilians who launched riots in their own country.
At this time, George Yang suggested: "But those serfs in this country who illegally occupy the legal property of their masters and even illegally judge their masters must be severely punished! Their entire clan should be burned to death!"
"That's right! Let all the untouchables know the consequences of betrayal! The consequences of seizing the power of the nobles without permission!"
Silk also echoed.
Therefore, not long after, Cen Weiming and other Ming people who were captured alive for coming to the hinterland of Europe to organize serf uprisings were invited to the manor by Austrian Count Hilke. Although they were temporarily placed under house arrest, they were given sufficient preferential treatment.
Silke even took the initiative to entertain them and express his respect to the Ming Emperor Zhu Youxiao.
He showed a very cruel side to the serfs who betrayed him.
The man was burned to death directly on his order.
The women were ravaged by his mercenaries in turn.
Very miserable.
"They are not humans, they are beasts! Didn't His Majesty the Holy Emperor say that oppression is not allowed? All property should belong to the owner who produced it, but they don't admit it!"
"They used guns and cannons to take away our fields again, and they said they were punishing us on behalf of God! They beat our tendons, cut our flesh, burned us, and even persecuted our families!"
"Why is God not as merciful as His Majesty the Holy Emperor? We ask His Majesty the Holy Emperor's royal masters to avenge us, take revenge!"
Vidorn, a serf who escaped from the swords of the European noble mercenaries, came to Zhu Cizhuo and tearfully complained about the crimes of the European noble armies.
In order to unify the world as soon as possible, prosper the global commodity market, and allow more lower-class civilians to become the main consumers, Zhu Youxiao did make use of the new ideas that sprouted in the West after the emergence of capitalism, that is, to make these ordinary serfs believe that they have their own rights. The idea is that this right has changed from "natural human rights" in history to "imperial human rights."
But the truth is correct. The rights of these people are indeed given to them by Zhu Youxiao, the most powerful person on earth.
It makes more sense than the so-called talent.
In addition, Zhu Youxiao did practice the imperial human rights by allocating land to European farmers and granting them land rights.
Serfs like Vidone really believed that the Ming Dynasty was here to save them and give them their rights.
After all, in this era, the European people, who had only recently become enlightened, were already dissatisfied with the restrictions imposed by the church.
Today, Zhu Youxiao's theory of profit-buying and rights granting is a timely blessing for European people who want to live a freer life and long for their own legal property and legal rights.
After hearing this, Zhu Cizhuo also showed great indignation and ordered: "Send the order! Don't let go of any of the European nobles who are doing evil in Budapest! All ministries send sentries to closely investigate the movements of these beasts!"
If the European nobles wanted to quell the rebellion of the serfs without resorting to bloody suppression, they could only take the initiative to separate their fields and give up power to the serfs.
But how could European nobles do it?
After all, it is really difficult to give up your own interests.
Even if there are a few nobles who are willing to do this, most nobles will not, and therefore, the few nobles who are willing to do so will be regarded as rebellious.
Therefore, the European nobles could only use bloody suppression to quell the serf rebellion.
But violence often cannot solve problems, and it is even the stupidest way, especially for the serfs who had nothing to begin with, and death did not pose much of a threat to them.
Because of this, the alliance of European nobles did this, which further forced the serfs to follow the Ming army to destroy their monarchs.
But Ming Dynasty is different.
The Ming Dynasty was like a higher-dimensional civilization. When it annexed Europe, what it needed was not land, but people, and not the kind of serfs with no income, but free people who could produce and consume.
This also determines the possibility that the European Allied forces have no chance of winning against the Ming army.
Before the main force of 20,000 European Union troops gathered in Budapest had time to leave Budapest and go to other places to exterminate the rioting serfs according to the orders of the Union General Headquarters, the main force of 100,000 Ming troops suddenly appeared in the suburbs of Budapest and surrounded them. Twenty thousand European Union troops.
At the same time, the main force of more than 60,000 Ming troops have gone to Vienna, Trieste, and Belgrade to block possible reinforcements.
Originally, the combat effectiveness of the Ming Army was much stronger than that of the European Alliance Army. What's more, the strength ratio of the Ming Army attacking Budapest to the European Alliance Army in Budapest is five to one.
So the ending is naturally no suspense.
Although various sieges often occurred in Europe in this era, various powerful defensive bastions were designed.
However, under the continuous attack of the Ming army, and the death squads among the serfs who were angered by them personally carried explosives to blow up the city walls, Budapest was eventually captured by the Ming army.
Before the main force of 100,000 Ming troops suddenly appeared in Budapest, Leopold VI and other major figures in the European Alliance Army had left here and went to Vienna, preparing to deploy a plan to suppress the rioting serfs near Vienna, thereby eradicating the Ming army in these areas. The basis of local governance.
Therefore, when the main force of 100,000 Ming troops arrived in Budapest, the commander of Budapest was Count Silk.
Count Hilke only learned that the Ming army had arrived in Budapest when the Ming army began to attack the outer city.
Because the Ming army did not take the main road, but took the small road with the help of local serfs and civilians.
Silk, a local nobleman, did not know his territory as well as his serfs, and he was only familiar with a few nearby roads.
In fact, because he did not have enough eye contact among the civilians and serfs, he did not know that the Ming army had appeared around him for a long time. He did not even know how many Ming troops were near him, nor did he know the location of the Ming army. The Ming army here seemed to have invisibility, disappearing and reappearing at any time.
However, the Ming army knew his situation clearly.
The strength of his troops, how close his nearest large reinforcements were, how many cannons he had on his walls and enough food to last for several days, etc., were all well known to the Ming army.
The same goes for the European Union armies in other places. After they learned that Budapest was besieged, they could only hurriedly take the main road to reinforce the army, but they did not know that there were a large number of Ming troops ambushing them where they had to pass.
So this also caused these European alliance troops to be blocked by the Ming army on their way to help. At the same time, they were also surrounded by the Ming army that suddenly came after the capture of Budapest, and then were completely annihilated.
The Elector Jan George of Saxony was defeated and died because he was surrounded by the Ming army on his way to rescue Budapest.
Silk was also captured alive after the fall of Budapest, and then burned alive by local serfs.
Because the European Allied forces had to carry all kinds of huge artillery and baggage, and had to line up to march, they could only take the main road, and their intelligence sources were single. They could only rely on their own sentries and upper-class nobles, and they had no intelligence sources and sources at the grassroots level. support.
Therefore, they could only fight back and forth on the avenues between castles when fighting the Ming army. The combat paths were only dots and lines.
However, while attacking Budapest, the Ming army could send troops to block other reinforcements, and then they could continue to fight. That is, after capturing Budapest, they could immediately rush for reinforcements.
The combat path of the Ming army seems to be not just a dotted line, but can travel freely on one surface. It can appear here in a roundabout way, and it can appear there in a roundabout way. There are no rules. This also shows the dimension of the Ming army's combat. They are all one level higher than the European Allied Forces.
Therefore, the European Alliance Army was no match at all, and the last main force of more than 200,000 people was wiped out by the Ming Army in various ways, leaving only 50,000 or 60,000 people.
With this small number of people, they can only hold on to important castles everywhere, and many small and medium-sized castles have to give up.
When the battle reached this point, King Leopold VI had to admit that the gap between them and the Ming army could not be explained by a simple disparity in weapons. He had to admit:
"These ghosts from the east! They are ten times more terrifying than the Ottomans, no, a hundred times, a thousand times more terrifying!"
"I have already learned through interrogating some serfs that the emperor of the East does not rule like us. He appoints officials with sufficient morals and abilities in the army and internal affairs. He does not allow the people in these places to govern themselves. He has always They are all using the people they have trained to govern the army and the people and are very good at bewitching to guide the people under their rule and become his followers. This allows him to concentrate a large amount of manpower and material resources in a very long time! This is very horrible!"
When Leopold VI said this, he looked at other European nobles and said: "I don't know why this Ming emperor named Zhu Youxiao could think of this like a genius! He is launching a global change. And the fact that these outstanding people from the East are willing to be driven by him in this way should be related to the fact that they also need to get rid of us so that the whole world becomes their world."
"I heard that officials from the Ming Dynasty who fled to our Europe and were persecuted by Zhu Youxiao said that this emperor named Zhu Youxiao was a tyrant! A very cruel tyrant!"
Prince Eugen replied at this time.
Leopold VI laughed: "If he is really a tyrant, it means that God likes tyrants!"
…
“Looks like God loves tyrants!”
"Otherwise, more than fifty years ago, the government had not decided to open the sea on a large scale. Even before the Longwan period, it was strictly forbidden to go to the sea. The country's manor owners from top to bottom only wanted to keep their people in their own country. The Eastern Empire in the manor will not be led by its imperial court so suddenly, take the initiative to expand the scale of sea expansion, and also take the initiative to expand outside and immigrate overseas!"
"I have read their historical data, and if it were not for the fact that the Ming Emperor used his fearless courage and ruthlessness to kill the conservative, stubborn and selfish powerful officials and bureaucrats into rivers of blood, and forced them to give up enslaving the people of the country, they would have been killed. If they are forced to accept being on an equal footing with the civilians of their own country, and then cooperate to develop overseas interests;
Perhaps, the powerful bureaucrats of this empire, what they call scholar-bureaucrats, are still willing to live a wealthy life by oppressing their own people and using public objects for private use, and are trying their best to use a method called etiquette. Things continue to maintain this order and refuse to change!
They will even try their best to allow the common people of their country to have the opportunity to be on an equal footing with them only through their rules, and this rule is the imperial examination system they implemented before. It seems that the content of the test is useless but it is very useful;
One word! Before this tyrant appeared, if the civilians here wanted to be on equal footing with them, they could only join them and become the same people as these scholar-officials. "
Henry, a Ming philosopher who was captured by the Ming army from Cambridge University, expressed his latest research results to Newton and others after being exposed to the literature and history of the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Fuzhi, who was in charge of managing these people, listened and walked towards Henry.
