Chapter 994 1085 Ancestors' Foundation

Chapter 994 1085 Ancestors' Foundation

"We'll go check out the surrounding security situation later. Li Jin said that the Yi people have established strongholds in many places on the island. I don't know if our arrival has been discovered by them."

Deng Zilong stared at the dense forest to the east and said with some worry.

"Sir, we need to send people to quietly check out the situation."

The gunboat captain suggested in a low voice.

"Do you have someone who is familiar with the forest and knows how to scout?"

Deng Zilong asked in surprise.

"Sir, I just grew up by the sea and was transferred to the naval camp because I am familiar with the water. But I used to be a member of the guard station. How can I not have a few scouts under my command?"

The gunboat captain said, patting his chest.

"Wang Wanggao, are there really people in this field on your ship?"

Deng Zilong became excited when he heard this.

You know, when Yu Dayou announced at the Coastal Guard Station, they were all selected based on their familiarity with water. After all, they were recruiting navy troops, not combat soldiers, and they did not take into account the needs of land warfare at all.

Except for the gunners and a few archers, almost all of them were able to swim and there were no people suffering from seasickness.

If the gunners and archers relax appropriately, there is nothing they can do about it.

There were too few gunners and archers in the Ming military guard post.

It's not just about being able to load a cannon, it's about being able to fire it, it's about being able to aim at the target and fire the cannon.

The situation of archers is similar, it cannot be trained in a short time.

Bird gunners can be produced in batches and are relatively simple.

Just point the iron pipe at the enemy and release it. After all, the distance of using the gun is not very far, so just train the selected officers and soldiers directly.

However, for the sake of these gunners and archers, Yu Dayou often argued with the command of the guard post.

After all, these are already considered technical arms in the Ming Army. There are already few people in them. Of course they won't be happy if he wants to take away another group.

As for scouts, I naturally didn't consider them.

After all, there is still a need to detect the enemy's situation, but that's all done by sending ships, so why would we need troops like scouts to investigate.

Therefore, Deng Zilong was so happy when he heard Wang Wanggao say that there were his former scouts on board.

When I feel sleepy, someone gives me a pillow, and I get whatever I want.

The reason why he didn't consider searching around was because he considered that he didn't have the talent in this field.

Now that it's good, soldiers with a background as scouts will naturally be used.

"Bring the people here, anyone who has ever been a scout."

Deng Zilong waved his hand and asked Wang Wanggao to find someone. He waited for someone to come over in the temporary tent set up here.

Before waiting too long, Wang Wanggao came over with two people.

Unlike the scouts of the northern frontier army, the two men brought by Wang Wanggao were not tall and seemed to be very agile.

Deng Zilong would not despise them because of this. He had also led troops in Jiangxi and knew that the scouts in the south were different from those in the north. They did not need to be tall and strong, able to ride horses, endure hunger, and manipulate. People with all kinds of weapons, but it is precisely this kind of agility.

"Are you familiar with the forest?"

Deng Zilong asked immediately.

"Before entering the army camp, I worked as an Orion for three years in order to earn a living."

A slightly older young man replied immediately, and the one next to him also nodded.

"Sir, they and I are from the same family. Both are archer families who have joined the team. In order to supplement the family income, you know, most of the archers have actually been hunters, so they are very familiar with the mountains and woods.

The two of them were also called into the navy camp because of their status as archers. "

Wang Wanggao introduced, obviously he was very familiar with these two people.

“Are you used to working in pairs, or can you work separately?

Of course, you can also choose others from around you to help you. "

Deng Zilong didn't want to waste time, so he asked immediately after the two of them saluted and announced their names.

"My lord, what you mean is"

Before the two of them could speak, Wang Wanggao hesitated and couldn't help but ask.

"We need to search the vicinity, not just in the east, but also in the north and south directions, including the side near Tortoiseshell City, to see if Lin Feng has arranged sentries there."

Deng Zilong glanced at Wang Wanggao and immediately explained: "To the north and east, the main purpose is to search whether there are local tribes around, and whether there are Yi people nearby.

To the south, I want the topographic map near Tortoiseshell City. "

Having said this, Deng Zilong paused for a moment before speaking: "If we want to attack Tortoiseshell City, we definitely can't attack from the sea. Once Lin Feng leads his men into the woods, it will be very difficult for us to encircle and suppress them.

Therefore, the best way is to understand the surrounding terrain of Tortoiseshell City, use the terrain advantages to build camps to prevent them from escaping eastward, and completely block them in Tortoiseshell City.

Gunboats were used to seal the harbor outside the bay, and Lin Feng and his group were unable to fly. "

"I see, I also told you how you want to attack Tortoiseshell City."

Wang Wanggao nodded in agreement.

"Our main mission is not to eliminate them immediately, but to figure out the situation without anyone noticing. It would be best if we can recruit feudal soldiers to help.

But if we really want to take action, it is best to wait for the admiral to arrive with his army.

Those preparations are just to prevent the barbarians from taking the first step to encircle and suppress or expel Lin Feng back to the Ming Dynasty. That is the most troublesome thing. "

Having said this, Deng Zilong looked at Wang Wanggao and said with a smile: "Wang Baihu should know what the Admiral has always thought, that is, it is best to defend against enemies at sea, and land warfare is the next best option."

Wang Wanggao nodded when he heard this. He was very familiar with Yu Dayou. After all, he was a great man from the Fujian Garrison.

In the 30th year of Jiajing, he had served as the general of Fujian and Zhejiang, responsible for the war against the Japanese pirates.

At that time, all the warships of the Zhejiang Garrison were mobilized by him to form the Zhejiang Navy to resist the invasion of the Japanese pirates and to prevent the Japanese pirates from escaping.

It was a pity that later, somehow, Yu Dayou was accused of colluding with the Japanese pirates, and then he was arrested by the Jinyiwei and brought back to the capital for questioning.

Who knew that after not hearing the news for many years, the next time he heard his name was when he led the Jiangxi Garrison into Fujian to suppress the rebel Zhang Lian.

At that time, Wang Wanggao had just entered the military camp and inherited his family's military position to become a centurion.

The gap between the two was too big, so naturally, apart from admiration, they looked down on each other.

"Sir, do you think this is feasible? Let them each choose two people, search from the north and east first, and find out the enemy situation.

After both sides are investigated, we can finally attack the south. This way, it will not be easy to expose our existence."

Wang Wanggao suggested.

Deng Zilong nodded immediately, but his eyes looked at the two people.

This matter is up to them, so it depends on their intention.

Of course, as a superior, you can give them orders, but the effect of doing so may not be good.

Seeing that the two were slightly hesitant, after all, the two deputies selected were not good at scouts, and it would definitely be risky to bring them around.

This is not the Ming Dynasty, but Luzon, thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty, and it can be said that they are unfamiliar with the place.

If an accident happens, it will be a big loss.

"After this battle, this officer will recommend you to be promoted one level each. This is just your reward for being a scout.

If you make meritorious service on the battlefield, the reward will be calculated separately."

Yu Dayou imitated Qi Jiguang's reward regulations and gave generous rewards to the soldiers who made meritorious service on the battlefield.

In the past, when suppressing the Japanese pirates around the Ming Dynasty, the meritorious soldiers received a lot of rewards according to their achievements, which were actually in their hands.

It is also because of this that the morale of the soldiers of the South China Sea Navy is very high. They will not be nervous because they are sent to fight, and they will not worry that they will have accidents on the battlefield and their families will be miserable.

Yes, although it is a military household system in the garrison, it does not mean that there will always be disabled family members in the family to supplement the military camp.

You know, if the military households do not join the camp as soldiers, they will have no income.

The little garrison land distributed in the early Ming Dynasty has long been taken away by the officials.

As for the method, of course it will not be robbed openly, but it will take advantage of the difficulties of each family to use usury or other methods to get it.

For such a thing, there is nothing to do even if you report it to the officials.

People are just taking back the borrowed money according to the contract, not robbing property, and the garrison governor cannot say anything.

Although the military households are severely deducted by their superiors, they can always have some income, and if they go out to do some work, they can barely survive.

After all, it is the south, and the wild vegetables and prey in the mountains can barely fill their stomachs.

After joining the navy, the situation of the officers and soldiers is different.

Although the military pay will still be deducted, it is not as severe as when they were in the garrison.

There are rewards for meritorious service in war, which is better than the meager income of the military pay.

In fact, the person who deducted the military pay was not Yu Dayou, he did not care about this little money.

But the military pay allocated by various provinces and military preparations had already been lost, and he could not pay for the soldiers out of his own pocket.

As for reporting the matter to the court, it would be even more of a joke.

If it really came to that, Wei Guangde might not be able to save him.

As for whether the generals below deducted again, Yu Dayou just reminded them not to push the soldiers too hard, if they did not work hard on the battlefield, or they would be sold directly.

Therefore, the proportion of military pay received by the officers and soldiers of the South China Sea Navy should be the highest among all the Ming troops.

After all, Yu Dayou also had to rely on these generals to command the war, and he couldn't completely cut off their financial resources.

This might be the reason why he was helpless.

In the past, Yu Dayou would never have been able to stand such a system.

But after so many years of experience in officialdom, he also knew that he couldn't do anything and could only pretend not to know.

If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. We can only say that the words of our ancestors are more or less reasonable.

Now, the two of them finally nodded after getting Deng Zilong's promise.

The words of the generals of the Navy Camp have been recognized by the soldiers after several bandit suppressions.

They also have to promise to give rewards, and there will definitely be rewards after the war.

Although being a scout does not give silver directly, if you can become a general flag, your monthly military pay will increase a little. This is a long-term thing and cannot be calculated in detail.

If you have a good relationship with your superiors and operate well, maybe this general flag will become a family heirloom position.

Yes, for low-level military officers such as centurions and general flags, it depends largely on the attitude of the thousand-household commanders of the garrison.

Of course, for those with hereditary military positions, that is another matter.

However, among the low-level military officers of the Ming Dynasty, only a few positions are hereditary, and the power of most positions is still in the hands of the garrison commanders, who operate them.

It should be said that those who formulated the system at the beginning also understood the military, and knew that they had to give the people below some flexibility and cultivate their own people so that they could command them as if they were using their arms and fingers.

So, the two quickly selected familiar soldiers, took their weapons and followed them out of the camp, and began to search for the situation nearby.

In the capital, Ciqing Palace.

In the huge hall, Wei Guangde was the only one standing alone, and at the top sat the two Empress Dowagers, and on the side stood the young Emperor Zhu Yijun.

Wei Guangde lowered his head slightly at this time, bowed and said: "Empress Dowager, I still insist that a large army should be sent to Luzon.

The Empress Dowager may not know that in fact, in the third year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu Taizong once appointed Xu Chailao as the Governor of Luzon, and took charge of the military, political, financial and cultural power of Luzon.

In theory, Luzon should be considered a province of our Ming Dynasty at this time.

But later, in the first year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong was young and worried that the voyage to the West would consume the national treasury, so he stopped temporarily.

After the national politics stabilized, he tried to restart the voyage to the West several times, but all ended due to opposition from finances and officials. It was not until the third year of Tianshun that an order was issued to stop all preparations.

So far, the Yongle Dynasty had lost everything including the old port and Luzon."

Wei Guangde was relatively polite. In fact, Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen knew nothing when he first ascended the throne. He was just a little kid who knew nothing. He was fooled by the three Yangs in the cabinet at that time, so he stopped the voyage to the West.

When he grew up and knew that he had lost his ancestral foundation, he wanted to restart it, but the officials were too opposed. He also had a black history of being captured, and finally he could not overcome the opposition of the officials.

As for why the officials opposed it, it was naturally because the result of the voyage to the West was to bring back a large amount of spices and other things, and these things were often used as salary distribution in the financially distressed Gate.

Once or twice, the officials were grateful for your majesty's grace, but if they were distributed too much, it would become a burden.

They had to find a way to exchange these things for food, which was really troublesome, so they naturally chose to oppose it.

Don't think that Emperor Yingzong's restart of the voyage to the West was fake. Not to mention other things, the loss of the old port that had been incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty was a serious crime.

If it weren't for the fact that Wala was making a big fuss in the north, if it was two years later, the Ming fleet would have gone to the West again.

"Governor of Luzon?"

Empress Dowager Chen was stunned for a long time before asking.

"Yes, the palace should be able to find the imperial decree archived. I dare not talk nonsense about this matter."

In order to let the Ming Dynasty, or China, regain Old Port and Luzon, Wei Guangde also took great pains to find almost all the information, and finally used the case of Xu Chailao, the governor of Luzon, to convince the stubborn Ge Shouli and make him nod his head.

The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the foundation of their ancestors, and Old Port and Luzon just happened to scratch their itch.

Annan was originally abandoned by the imperial court, so it naturally does not count.

But whether it is Old Port or Luzon, there is no such decree.

At this point, even if the senior officials in the court did not support Wei Guangde, they could only acquiesce and no longer oppose.

The matter was finally exposed to the Ciqing Palace.

This time, it was the two Empress Dowagers who read the cabinet's memorials and specifically looked for Wei Guangde to understand the situation.

After all, he has been pushing this matter.

If they were to capture a vassal state, the two Empress Dowagers would definitely not agree. This would be too shameful for the Celestial Empire and would also make the foreign states uneasy.

But since there is already an old precedent of governor-general management, it is naturally a different matter.

"But now, Luzon seems to have fallen into the hands of the barbarians."

Empress Dowager Chen finally said.