Zhu Yuanzhang had 100% trust in Zhu Han, so he put the starting point of this war at sea. He told Lan Yu that when fighting Wang Baobao, you don't have to care how long it will take, but you must fight beautifully and win thoroughly. Wang Baobao must not be allowed to slip through the net again.
Therefore, when Lan Yu rushed to East India, he came with Zhu Yuanzhang's order and with awe and caution.
The order Lan Yu received was to eliminate Wang Baobao, but there was still a huge gap between Wang Baobao and India. Lan Yu still had a long way to go before he wanted to deal with Wang Baobao.
But Chen Youliang, who is in India, can be eliminated along with it... It can be regarded as a small appetizer before the war.
If Lan Yu wants to succeed in a battle, he must think more and think further.
So after arriving, Lan Yu was not in a hurry to launch an attack, and even Chen Youliang was thrown aside by Lan Yu. Instead, he calmed down, restrained his eagerness to make meritorious deeds, and was able to use the soldiers and horses under his hands in the military camp. clear.
The number of soldiers and horses stationed here is the largest among the Ming Dynasty's foreign troops. This is an important strategic point in Zhu Han's plan. Also because this is the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty to attack the west, this must be regarded as a top priority.
Of course, there are also reasons for the East India Company.
This land is neither far nor close to the Ming Dynasty, but there is a big mountain in the middle. Whether it is sea or land, you have to take a long way around. This land is natural fertile farmland and also has a very high-quality port, making it a strategic location. The land was perfect, so Zhu Han valued this land very much and asked them to run it well.
Both the troops stationed here and the merchants of the East India Company all followed Zhu Han's requirements.
Wang Baobao is now in Rome, separated by the Kingdom of Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Yin'er Khanate... The most powerful of them is the Ottoman Empire. The Persian Kingdom has been split into several small countries, and the Yin'er Khanate is also suffering from internal and external troubles.
If you want to travel by sea, these three countries cannot be avoided.
Fortunately, people in India are more obedient. After seeing the firearms used by the Ming Dynasty army, they regarded the Ming Dynasty army as gods.
Lan Yu was also puzzled as to why the people here believed so much in the so-called gods. Although Daming also talked about God and the like, he was not so fanatical.
However, Lan Yu did not participate in the destruction of indigenous beliefs, because Zhu Han had reminded them before that the locals could believe whatever they wanted, and no one should participate. They just passed on Kong's Confucianism. Whoever wants to read it Anyone who reads it and doesn't want to read it can continue to believe in their teachings.
Anyway, there are a large number of indigenous people who are destined to be eliminated. Zhu Han will not specify who will die in detail. Anyway, it is enough to assimilate some people. Even if they cannot assimilate... it doesn't matter. Now The population of the Ming Dynasty has nearly exceeded 200 million. It will take several decades to give birth to three generations of children. Can’t the world be filled with Ming people?
If nothing else, just the love for the land, no country in the world can match the Ming Dynasty.
It took Lan Yu seven days to get a good feel for the situation of the soldiers and horses under his hands... I have to say that the situation overseas was much more troublesome than at home.
Although there are 80,000 soldiers and horses, these soldiers and horses cannot be fully used, because many soldiers and horses are still continuing to advance westward, and some soldiers and horses are stationed in the areas that have been controlled. It is not peaceful there either. More sergeants are needed to maintain law and order.
Therefore, the number of soldiers and horses that Lan Yu can use is only fifty thousand.
With the power of artillery and the power of firecrackers, Lan Yu is confident to fight Wang Baobao... not only with Wang Baobao, but before going to confront Wang Baobao head-on, he also has to conquer the kingdoms of Persia, Ottoman and Yin Erhan first. .
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With so many enemies, only 50,000 soldiers and horses can be mobilized. Lan Yu feels that it is not so safe.
Are you going to continue to apply for troop transfers from China?
It's not impossible, but transporting supplies consumes too much money, and you have to avoid rough seas at all times. If something goes wrong, it will easily cause the supplies to not arrive in time.
The cost of deploying troops from the Ming Dynasty is too high, and fighting like this... Lan Yu doesn't like it.
As the coach who was personally appointed by Zhu Yuanzhang, Lan Yu wanted to find a solution by himself when faced with problems. If he encountered something, he would go to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han for help. Then what else would he do as a coach?
Since there are not enough sergeants, we should find ways to increase the number.
Lan Yu set his sights on the East India Company.
It is true that the East India Company is a trading house, but it is a company with an official background, and countless businessmen have purchased shares in the company. When they are doing business, they also have their own trade protection groups.
For example, the Zhou Trading Company's merchant ships are equipped with artillery, and some merchant ships are better than the warships of the Ming Dynasty... But Lan Yu also knows that the reason why they can have these super merchant ships is because of Zhu Han, so He felt that he was doing something for Lao Zhu's family, and Zhou's firm should support him.
For her own plan, Lan Yu was fully prepared.
He called the person in charge of Zhou's trading company in the East India Company, and he was just borrowing money.
Lan Yu wants to dismantle all the cannons on their merchant ships and use them as war preparation supplies.
The person in charge of Zhou's Trading Company is also a direct member of the Zhou family, named Zhou Sheng. After hearing Lan Yu's words, his first reaction was to refuse: "No, no, no, General Lan can't do this. We are on merchant ships." The cannons are prepared to protect our safety. If the cannons are removed, our merchant ships will no longer have to walk on the sea in the future. You don’t know, General Lan, those pirates are not human beings, they are all lunatics... They are not interested in money. Greedy lunatics, they don’t even care about death in order to grab business on the Ming Dynasty’s merchant ship... We have been doing business for so many years, and we have never encountered such a difficult opponent."
"General Lan, it's not that we don't help you, but... we really can't help. Now all our family's money is invested in maritime trade, and we can't afford any mistakes."
Sincerity is always a must-win. No matter whether Zhou Sheng tells the truth or not, there must be three points of it that are true.
In fact, there was another request that Zhou Sheng did not mention. Lan Yu was from the Ming Dynasty government. He had great hands and eyes. What if he borrowed the cannon and refused to return it? These cannons were bought with real money. If Lan Yu borrowed them and didn't give them back, it would be a huge loss.
After Lan Yu heard this, she seemed confident: "I called you here today not only to ask for your cannons to fight... The cannons on your ship are exposed to the wind and sun all day long, and the waves on the ship are big, and there are many cannons. They’re all rusty, and if it hadn’t taken so long to get here from the country, I wouldn’t have used your cannon.”
When saying this, Lan Yu still looked disgusted, which made Zhou Sheng feel particularly speechless after seeing it.
Since you dislike it so much, then you won’t borrow it!
What are you talking about here?
"Zhou Sheng, don't think that I borrowed your cannon for nothing. I want to tell you that my plan this time can ensure that your merchant ships will be worry-free for three years!"
Lan Yu stretched out three fingers and proudly said to Zhou Sheng: "As for three years from now... there will be no more pirates on the route in three years' time!"
Zhou Sheng said nothing, expressing his disbelief with silence.
If it were Zhu Han sitting in front of Zhou Sheng now, he would agree without hesitation, or it could be Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, or Feng Sheng, Tang He, Zhao Yong who were the first to conquer the world with Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhou Sheng would agree after a little hesitation.
But Sapphire...can't.
It's not that I don't believe him, but Lan Yu's reputation is not good, and what he says seems like he is bragging.
How is this possible that pirates have not dared to cause trouble for three years?
Those pirates all want money rather than their lives. Can Lan Yu keep the pirates out of trouble?
Totally bragging.
Zhou Sheng didn't believe it, but Lan Yu immediately took out his handwritten decree and showed it to Zhou Sheng: "Look at this and then answer my question."
What?
After receiving the decree handed over by Lan Yu, Zhou Sheng didn't care at first, but when he saw the contents of the decree clearly, Zhou Sheng's eyes suddenly widened. Lan Yu didn't dare to see Zhou Sheng's face. He smiled slightly as if he believed it.
You demo...you still dare to look down on me?
"This...this, General Lan, is what you said true?"
Zhou Sheng pointed to the decree in his hand in disbelief, "Can you make the decision?"
"certainly!"
Lan Yu answered easily, took a sip of tea and then said slowly: "Your Majesty has given me full responsibility for the war in India. My decree is the highest decree here. All of you must abide by the decree. You are a businessman and a British official." His Royal Highness values you very much, so I came to talk to you to give face to the King of England. If this decree is sent to your ship by then, the nature will be different, what do you think?"
That's definitely different!
Lan Yu gave Zhu Han face and did not embarrass the Zhou family. However, if the Zhou family did not cooperate with Lan Yu, it would not give Zhu Han face. The Zhou family had finally climbed onto Zhu Han's thigh, so how could they give up so easily?
"Yes, yes, that's what General Lan said."
Zhou Sheng no longer rejected Lan Yu, but smiled very flatteringly: "Oh, General Lan, you are so familiar with His Royal Highness. If you had told me earlier, I would definitely cooperate with you 100%."
"General Lan, please rest assured that I will cooperate with you well. Whatever you need, as long as we can provide it, we will fully cooperate with General Lan."
After receiving Zhou Sheng's assurance, Lan Yu expressed satisfaction: "Easy to say, easy to say... When I see His Royal Highness the King of England in the future, I will definitely explain to him the Zhou family's support for my work."
"Thank you General Lan!"
For a time, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
When Lan Yu left, Zhou Sheng personally sent Lan Yu to the door.
If it were the previous Lan Yu, if Zhou Sheng didn't cooperate with his work, the knife would be directly pressed to his neck. If he didn't cooperate with his work, he would kill your whole family.
But now, Lan Yu is not like before. He is also learning from Zhu Han and learning to persuade others with virtue.
It is Lan Yu's virtue that makes Zhou Sheng read the government orders.
Don’t you, Zhou Sheng, look down on me? Okay, I've brought out the decree, do you still think it's okay to look down on it?
This is Lan Yu's growth. He is no longer a brainless and reckless young man. Because he was disciplined by Zhu Yuanzhang and felt guilty towards Zhu Han, Lan Yu has also changed his past self.
Judging from the current situation, he has changed quite well. If Zhu Han saw Lan Yu now, he might be surprised. This kid has changed too much.
…
Lan Yu is preparing nervously for the battle, and Wang Baobao on the other side is not idle either.
Sending Zhao Min away made Wang Baobao feel depressed for a long time, but he soon adjusted. After all, people have to look forward, and there are still a lot of things that need to be dealt with by him. Wang Baobao cannot sit idly by.
What worried him especially was Daming's movements.
Although there are three empires in the middle, their strength cannot be underestimated, but Wang Baobao always feels that he is very close to the Ming Dynasty, as if the Ming Dynasty's army is already around him as soon as he sleeps.
For this reason, Wang Baobao sent a huge secret team to sneak into India to continuously obtain information about the Ming Dynasty for him.
But recently, Wang Baobao smelled something unusual!
What he said to Zhao Min before she left was not just a simple lie to Zhao Min, but he really felt that something would happen.
According to intelligence, Wang Baobao learned that the troops stationed in India had almost no activities recently and seemed to be preparing for something.
Moreover, Ming Dynasty sent Lan Yu as commander-in-chief to India.
Sapphire?
This name Wang Baobao is not unfamiliar, he is a rising star in the Ming Dynasty army.
His arrival made Wang Baobao panic.
Wang Baobao did not dare to neglect at all. The Ming Dynasty was now in a strong position, while Meng Yuan was struggling to survive. Any attack by the Ming army might severely damage Meng Yuan's vitality. He must be fully prepared... Be prepared with both hands. One hand is prepared for resistance, and the other hand is prepared for escape.
Although the three countries of Persia, Ottoman, and Yin Erhan looked very large, in Wang Baobao's view, these three countries were powerful on the outside and cadre on the inside.
If it weren't for conquering these three countries, he would have to face the Ming Dynasty head-on. Wang Baobao would have dealt with them long ago.
For this reason, Wang Baobao was also very upset. In the past, after the Han dynasties in the Central Plains defeated the previous ruler, they would basically cease fighting and would no longer fight... Running westward was the best escape route, but Zhu Yuanzhang was like a war Like a madman, they kept chasing them westward. Wang Baobao often found a foothold, and the Ming army caught up behind him. Wang Baobao could only keep running, which made him miserable.
Wang Baobao thought for a while and asked his men to pass the news of Lan Yu's arrival in India to Chen Youliang, and asked Chen Youliang to have a fight with Lan Yu first so that he could take advantage of this to observe Lan Yu's strength.
The Western Yuan Dynasty gained a foothold in Rome, and its development was not good, but not bad. Moreover, Wang Baobao implemented a wartime policy, and all resources must be closer to the war. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the Mongolian and Yuan armies was restored well. In addition, Wang Baobao used a lot of gold, silver and women as a means to stabilize everyone's hearts a little.
However, before meeting Lan Yu, Wang Baobao also wanted to fight a battle first to boost the morale of the sergeant.
Of course, the war Wang Baobao talked about was not fighting the Ming Dynasty, nor attacking the Ottomans and other countries between Rome and India, but looking to the west.
