Originally, a certain prince was worried that he would act rashly, and if he infected Zhou Yuji with smallpox, he would be killed on the spot. Unexpectedly, the other party also got smallpox, and a fatal misunderstanding was avoided.
If most of the civil servants and generals in the imperial court had suffered from this disease, wouldn't it mean that his idea of inoculating his beloved ministers with pox would be in vain? How else to demonstrate the domineering aura of the Supreme Immortal?
"During this period, Aiqing has been training the East Palace Guards very well. I am very pleased with this, so I will reward Aiqing and his wife with a treasure. Go to the court and get the gun."
Yang Jinchao hurriedly called for a young chamberlain and brought out a tray from the room, covered with red cloth. It was unclear what kind of good thing it was, which made Zhou Yuji a little curious.
From his point of view, since the prince said that this reward is a "gun", with such a short size, it is probably a Western-style musket, but an ordinary musket must not be regarded as the "treasure" mentioned by the prince.
"General, please look!"
Yang Jinchao removed the red cloth, revealing two strange-looking muskets covered inside, with a round bulge in the middle of the gun body.
"This is the 'Revolver', a weapon imitated from the fairy world by the Academy of Sciences. It can fire six bullets in a row, and its firepower is better than a three-eyed gun. You might as well give it a try, and you will know the subtleties of this gun!"
A certain prince sent someone to place a one-meter-square target in the corner of the courtyard for Zhou Yuji to use for test shooting.
Other military generals may not get this treatment, but Zhou Yuji was a fierce man who led a few thousand soldiers to pass the 200,000 to 300,000 soldiers and horses under Brother Li's command. In the end, he was defeated and died. He was worthy of a big fight against the dynasty.
"A general would never dare to do this!"
Zhou Yuji did not dare to play with a gun in the courtyard of the East Palace. If this spread, especially by the censors, there would be more bullets in his memorial than in the gun.
"As long as I say it's okay, my dear, you don't have to worry about anything else. Stand in front of the line, move the hammer away, and then use your index finger to pull the trigger."
After a certain prince explained the general method of operation to the general, he retreated to a distance, fearing that the bullet would miss the target and he would be hit by a ricochet.
This was live ammunition shooting, no joke. For safety reasons, even the guards behind the target were removed, for fear of being hit by missed bullets.
Since His Highness the Crown Prince had spoken in advance, in order not to spoil Qiantose's elegance, Zhou Yuji could only be more respectful than obey his orders. He bowed his hands in salute first, and then turned around to test the gun.
"Pa~!"
Following the instructions of His Royal Highness, Zhou Yuji held the trigger with his index finger, and then pulled it back hard. As the trigger was pulled by his finger, a flame suddenly burst out from the muzzle of the gun, and at the same time, it made a crisp sound.
this……
It’s so amazing!
There was no need for a match rope to ignite a fire or a flint to fire the gun. Pulling the trigger would shoot the bullet out of the barrel, which made Zhou Yuji grin from ear to ear in surprise.
"Pa~!"
His fingers also felt that the trigger had returned to its original position. According to His Highness the Crown Prince, he could continue to pull the trigger. As expected, it was indeed the case.
Zhou Yuji's mind was already overwhelmed by the sudden surprise, and he fired six rounds of bullets in a daze, and he still stood there until green smoke came out of the muzzle.
"How do you feel, Aiqing?"
A certain prince did not dare to say whether he hit the target or not, but he probably did not kill anyone outside the yard. It was only ten meters away. If he was not accurate, he would not have killed the cow through the wall.
Theoretically, only insufficient arm strength will lead to the inability to control the muzzle jump caused by recoil. Obviously, it is not difficult for Zhou Yuji, a military general, to control the guy in his hand.
"Back to Your Highness, this spear does not require an open flame. It is actually a weapon of extraordinary craftsmanship. If Master Wang equips it, we will be able to defeat the Donglu in no time!"
Zhou Yuji was very excited at the thought of being equipped with thousands of such powerful weapons.
"Due to its complex structure and demanding craftsmanship, the monthly output of this gun is only twenty or thirty pieces, and the cost is as high as hundreds of taels. Therefore, I am afraid that it will not be equipped on a large scale in the King's Division in recent years. It is currently only used by special forces. But Aiqing Since I am so loyal, I will not begrudge this thing. My beloved and my wife each hold one, which is perfect for self-defense. With this gun, once you become proficient in it, you can easily shoot it if you break into a dangerous situation. Kill the enemy soldiers. I will first give you two hundred rounds of bullets for the training of your beloved and your wife. Ten days later, when the Donglu forwards enter the pass, I will give another two hundred rounds to kill the Donglu thieves. .This is the shooting essentials and this is the holster.”
The revolver, bullets, booklet and holster are all four items. This is a complete set, just like eating "four pieces of pigs".
"General, thank you very much, Your Highness! Your Highness has given me a new life. General, I have nothing to repay. I will definitely kill the enemy to repay Your Highness's love!"
Zhou Yuji hurriedly knelt down on one knee, cupped his fists and saluted. He originally thought that the position of deputy of the Yongwei camp would be the end of his life.
Unexpectedly, after the prince took over the country, he would be mentioned in a position that was on par with Huang Degong. The Yongwei camp is the emperor's personal army, and the East Palace Guard is the prince's personal army.
In comparison, no matter in terms of treatment, equipment, personnel, or training level, the Donggong Guards will surpass the Yongwei Battalion in the future and become truly the number one division in the world.
The backbone of the East Palace Guard is the veterans of the Yongwei Battalion. These people dare to fight hard and fierce battles.
Under their leadership, and with the help of the training manual provided by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the combat effectiveness of the East Palace Guards is increasing day by day.
There is no guarantee for anything else. Zhou Yuji believes that even if the new soldiers in his unit have no combat experience, with the officers composed of veterans and relying on the solid city, it will not be easy for the Donglu army to break into the city.
What's more, our troops are also equipped with a large number of flintlock guns and mortars, and even rocket launchers with a range comparable to Hongyi cannons. Their firepower strike capabilities are far better than those of the savage-like Donglu.
After practicing for nearly five months, it's time to try out my skills. Only by "fighting instead of training" can the team make faster progress.
"I have absolute trust in Aiqing, otherwise I would not have let Aiqing be in charge of the East Palace Guards. Now that the invasion of the East is imminent, Aiqing must divide the East Palace Guards into three. One part will assist Zhang Yilong's Guards Battalion. In the inner city, the Donglu, who were on guard in the city, fanned the people and waited for opportunities to cause chaos. Some went to Tongzhou to assist Li Chengdong's troops in transporting grain to the capital as soon as possible. Some went out of the city to help the surrounding people harvest crops and transport the harvested grain to the city. The court has Implementing the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the country, the surrounding people can take refuge with the harvested food. I estimate that the Donglu will not be able to enter the pass until ten days at the earliest. Aiqing's troops will have at least ten days to complete these things. After that, all personnel will be stationed in the old city to support the middle city and the new city at any time.”
The old city is the last fortress of a certain prince. Whether he can survive depends on whether he can hold on to the old city.
Even if the middle city cannot be saved, the new city is lost, and all the East Palace Guards are dead, the old city must be defended.
The 5,000-strong Guards Battalion led by Zhang Yilong alone cannot defend the old city. All members of the East Palace Guards must be stationed here.
They are only the last line of defense. Whether they can defend their chicken coop depends on whether our "ultimate move in the fairy world" is effective or not!
However, you have to stick to it for a month, because the onset of smallpox lasts from ten to fifteen days.
No matter what, you have to give "Miss Tiannv Sanhua" some time to lose her temper, right?
The time from infection to onset of disease and then to large-scale infection usually takes more than a month at least.
This has to be timed from the time of Braid's large-scale siege. If Braid has been encircling the city without attacking, and only uses long-range rocket launchers to strike, the effect will not be as good as expected.
A certain prince hoped that Braid would come directly to attack the city so that he could be successful.
At the same time, he was afraid that Master Wang would be defeated directly by the opponent, so he felt very conflicted.
If you think like this every day, you will be under great mental pressure. It's not like Wu Zixu's hair turning gray overnight, it will be faster.
"I will advance 200,000 taels of silver from your beloved to buy rice at the price of two taels per stone. If it is not enough, you can immediately send someone to report to me, and I will send someone to send you another tael of silver. .”
Two hundred thousand taels can buy one hundred thousand stone of rice, which is more than nine thousand tons.
If you harvest one stone from one acre of land, you will also need 100,000 acres of land.
Excluding the portion reserved for wealthy gentry, the difference should be about the same.
The rich gentry's fertile land is the big head, while the poor farmers' land is the small head.
As for whether the rich gentry are willing to take refuge in the capital, a certain prince has no control over it.
Once the collaborators are found after the war, wouldn't it be great to confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans? ? ?
The East Palace Guards can only collect part of the crops within their capabilities within the scope of Shuntian Prefecture, and they cannot go to Baoding Prefecture in the south to collect crops.
There is another thing that needs to be explained, that is, in the 26th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1393), the cultivated land area of North Zhili was 58 million acres.
By the second year of Jianwen (1400), the number had dropped sharply to 27 million acres, which was even more exciting than a 50% discount.
Specifically, by the time of Wanli Qingzhang, the cultivated land area of Jizhou was 1.08 million acres.
When a certain prince came to supervise the country, perhaps only God knows how much land he actually had...
Calculated by area, Shuntian Prefecture occupies at least about one-sixth of Beizhili.
If converted into cultivated land area, calculated according to the Jianwen period, it would be at least four million acres.
But can a certain prince harvest grain from four million acres?
Obviously not!
Even if the grain harvest is based on one million acres, tens of thousands of troops would have to be mobilized to collect grain!
The reality is so cruel!
This is also the reason why a certain prince has not touched the land since he took charge of the country.
You can do whatever you like, I will cash in all the land deeds I got from the house confiscation.
As for who will cultivate the land, it is not the prince's business.
These days, if you have money, you can buy food. If you can't buy it from the north, you go to the south to buy it.
The purpose of collecting food in Shuntian Prefecture was to strengthen the walls and clear the fields, leaving no food for braids.
After the war, any large family that did not hand over food to the imperial court and still asked the imperial court to provide relief to them would be a collaborator with the enemy.
Optimistically speaking, a certain prince spent one million taels of silver to collect grain, and I'm afraid he won't be able to spend all the money...
It is actually easy to understand the thinking of those wealthy gentry who were unwilling to sell their grain to the court.
First, they can wait for the price, and as long as they keep the grain, they can sell it at a high price and cash out.
Secondly, after the "Qing Dynasty King" entered the customs, he could use food to save the lives of the whole family.
Thinking about it this way, selling grain to Mingting is not so cost-effective.
A certain prince can be sure now that when the war is over, a group of people will go to bury the braids with them!
Natural disasters and disasters come together. Four-legged toads are hard to find, and two-legged slaves are everywhere!
The wealthy people in the city must either run away as soon as possible, or hide in the city and wait for the final result.
In fact, their help to Braid is minimal. At most, they can contribute some money.
The wealthy gentry outside the city all own large tracts of land, and the weather in the Shuntianfu area is not particularly bad.
As long as these lands are cultivated properly, they can still get good harvests, which is what they rely on to be the masters in their own land.
To put it bluntly, a wealthy gentry is a landowner with a reputation, and there are two ways to gain fame.
The first is the imperial examination. Even if someone in the family is a scholar, he can enjoy benefits that exceed those of ordinary people.
The second is to buy, which is to donate, which is to hug the thigh in the usual sense. The thicker the thigh, the better the welfare and the safer the family property.
Combined with the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty, this is called the landowners in the north, merchants in the south, plus the "border generals" in the east and the "chieftains" in the southwest, as well as the courtiers who eat the imperial grain, it is the famous "East, West, South, North, Middle"!
This group of people "get rich" every time, the household department is "blank slate" time after time, and there are pigtails and rogue bandits waiting for opportunities to cause trouble. It's strange that the imperial court has more than enough every year!
You can't kill them all with one blow. After all, there are some loyal ministers like Uncle Wang among the courtiers, and there is also Aunt Qin who is loyal and courageous among the chieftains. Zu Dashou, one of the generals on the side, did not take the initiative to join Huang Taiji.
Most of the merchants in the south will give the blame-sitter a lot of headaches, but the landlords in the north need to be dealt with personally by a certain prince.
After the borers were cleared from the court, the land eaten by them was spat out.
The rest is the land of the wealthy gentry, and it is definitely not okay to grab it blatantly.
Everything is about methods!
Ever since, a certain prince suddenly had a bold idea...
This was the idea that a certain prince came up with after his brain exploded after Zhou Yuji arrived.
Yongji created a gentry who "worked as a errand and paid for the food"!
A certain prince took advantage of the situation and created a wealthy gentry who "will be loyal to one body and receive food from the other"!
Normally, this move would definitely make the wealthy gentry extremely resistant.
But in wartime, they have no choice but to be unwilling.
"Being an errand" means you have no part in it. The more "loyalty" you have, the better!
In the Ming Dynasty, especially on the ground of Beiting, it is definitely not possible to be loyal!
Look at a certain little fat house prince who "donates his stomach to the country" every day...
In the opinion of a certain prince, if the wealthy gentry of Shuntian Prefecture did not pay money to the court because they were unwilling to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, then they were the traitors of the Ming Dynasty who had taken refuge in the Donglu!
Must die!
Let the feudal lords of Dongchang serve you well with severe punishment!
Thinking about it this way, I am really a genius~!
After a certain prince finished thinking about it, he asked Yang Jinchao to draft it immediately and stamp it with the seal of the East Palace.
Now that a certain prince is also the regent, and even the cabinet is empty, he can issue a valid imperial edict from the Northern Court!
This is a special matter, not an imperial edict in the standard sense, but if Zhou Yuji gets it, he will have the power of life and death.
Anyone who resists the regent's order does not need to listen to his explanation. He will be arrested first. If he resists with weapons, he will be shot without mercy!
Although I don’t want the land in your hands, there are ways to squeeze out your remaining value!
You guys are so cute with me, you guys are short of a truckload of dragon fruit!
After Yang Jinchao finished writing, he understood what the prince meant. Compared with this young man's methods, it would be better for him to move to Nandu...
Of course, this order alone will definitely not work. It must be used in conjunction with a large number of soldiers and horses.
This is called applying both soft and hard tactics. Regardless of whether the rich gentry like it or not, your crops have been reserved by the court!
It doesn't matter if you don't want to hand over the food, I will send people to harvest your crops!
A certain prince integrates scientific and technological research and development, formulating strategies, training soldiers and horses, quickly amassing wealth, and harvesting crops!
In general, you people can surrender, but the crops cannot!
Your conscience is greatly ruined, but your crops are greatly improved!
No matter what, let’s get into the city first!
When the pigtails come in, the crops that cannot be harvested will be burned on fire.
