I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 319 Mobilization of the Royal Group

"Now there is more and more intelligence confirming that the information is true. This war will definitely be fought this year." Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

"I know that what you are all concerned about is whether Your Majesty can fight against the Mongolian prince. It also depends on the direction of the Mongolian prince's southward movement. If he attacks Ningxia and Gansu, which are far away from Xuanfu, Your Majesty will not have time to rescue them."

There was no way. The Ming Dynasty's northern defense line was too long, several thousand miles long, and was divided into nine military towns. Although there were 400,000 border troops, after being distributed to each military town, there were only 40,000 to 50,000 people in each town.

It is now the eleventh year of Zhengde, and Zhu Houxuan is not sure where the little Mongolian prince will go south from, but he is sure that the little Mongolian prince will never attack Ningxia and Gansu, because those places are not rich, and if so many people go south and fail to grab enough things, the personal prestige of the little Mongolian prince will also be affected.

"Your Majesty has never fought a war. Can he handle it?" Liang Chu asked worriedly.

"Your Majesty is personally leading 5 new army soldiers. These soldiers have been trained by Your Majesty personally in the past two years. They are well-equipped and well-trained. The local garrisons can also send out tens of thousands of people. The military strength of the Ming Dynasty is estimated to be 9 to 10. If we do not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, but hold the city and wait for the opportunity to fight, and with Your Majesty leading the army in person, no general will dare to neglect his duty. We will still be able to fight if we meet the little Mongolian prince." Zhu Houxuan did not say too much.

"I'm just worried that the new army has never experienced a major war and something unexpected will happen." Yang Yiqing said. He had stayed in border towns for a long time and served as the general commander of three border towns. He was a man who knew military affairs well.

"The new army will eventually take this step, and it has also conducted a lot of training against the Mongols, and many of them have seen blood. Your Majesty has won the hearts of the new army. With your majesty in the army, the new army's fighting spirit will definitely be very high," Zhu Houxuan explained.

Yang Yiqing stopped talking, and the other ministers began a heated discussion.

The final result of the discussion was to let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue provide weapons, equipment, supplies and food. As for Zhu Houxuan's proposal of unified thinking and openly and fully supporting Zhu Houzhao, it was shelved.

Zhu Houxuan also quickly understood what the officials in the court were planning.

On the second day of this court meeting, the officials in the capital wrote numerous memorials to Xuanfu. The contents of these memorials were all against Zhu Houzhao leading the army in person, advising him not to take the risk and requesting him to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

Your Majesty, I will provide you with supplies if you need them, but I still oppose you leading the army in person, after all, the battlefield is dangerous.

By doing this, they have made themselves completely invincible.

If Zhu Houzhao was defeated, they had already tried to persuade Zhu Houzhao before the war, but Zhu Houzhao simply refused to listen!

If Zhu Houzhao won, they would have provided him with all kinds of supplies. Although I advised you and opposed you before the war, I have no ill will towards you. It was entirely for your own good.

So by doing this, no matter whether Zhu Houzhao wins or loses in the end, it will not have any impact on them, and it is also the safest option for them.

After figuring out why the officials in the court did that, Zhu Houxuan couldn't help but curse them in his heart as "old foxes" who were all so slippery.

However, Zhu Houxuan was too lazy to argue with them, as long as the supplies could be delivered, it was enough.

The heads of various departments of the Royal Group have gathered in the capital. Zhu Houxuan held a meeting in Nangong to discuss how to support Zhu Houzhao.

Because the railway to Xuanfu has been built, the pressure to transport food and supplies is not great. After all, it is an internal battle, so the consumption of food and supplies will not be that great.

Therefore, the meeting mainly discussed how to use this last month or so to improve the combat effectiveness of the Ming army participating in the war in all aspects.

"Your Highness, the Propaganda Department will compile and perform a number of art programs on the theme of defending the country, and send an art propaganda team to tour Xuanfu to boost the morale of the soldiers on the front line and inspire their fighting will," said Sun Gong from the Propaganda Department.

"That's a good idea." Zhu Houxuan nodded in appreciation. "The scope of the tour should not be limited to the new army. The various garrisons in the border towns should also be considered for the tour."

In this era, a good literary and artistic work can bring tremendous encouragement to people, and under the influence of Zhu Houxuan, the program styles edited and performed by the Propaganda Department are all close to the masses and life, so Sun Gong's suggestion is really useful.

Moreover, Zhu Houxuan also realized that he should now enhance the combat effectiveness of the border troops participating in the war. It is difficult to improve the combat effectiveness of the new army in a short period of time, but the combat effectiveness of the border troops can be improved in various aspects.

The speeches of Zhu Houxun and Sun Gong opened up the minds of the participants.

"Our Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Fisheries and Ministry of Reclamation have just discussed it together and proposed to transport large quantities of fish products, sugar and other supplies to the front line. These things may not be rare for the new troops, but they can effectively boost the morale of the border troops," said Jiang Jianyuan from the Ministry of Railways.

"Okay, I accept your suggestion, and you should start implementing this as soon as possible." Zhu Houxun said. He knew that now was not the time to be stingy. There were only about 100,000 border troops involved in this battle, and they would not be able to eat much even if they were allowed to eat as much as they wanted.

"Our Channel Department will immediately mobilize a group of civilians in Shanxi and Northern Zhili to participate in your Majesty's battle." Liu Hua from the Channel Department said.

"This is a good idea!" Zhu Houxuan praised.

The new army is composed of only combat soldiers. There will likely be large-scale maneuvers in this battle, and the combat soldiers must not be allowed to do trivial tasks. A large number of civilian laborers are needed to serve the combat soldiers, so that they can save physical strength and energy and fight better.

Generally speaking, the civilian laborers of the Ming army were organized by local governments, and their organization level was very low. But if the Channel Department was asked to organize the civilian laborers, and a large number of Royal Group employees were allowed to join the civilian labor team as the backbone, then the organization level of the civilian labor team would definitely be much higher than that of the government organization.

As the organization of the civilians increases, the efficiency of logistics will be greatly improved, which will also indirectly increase the combat effectiveness of the army.

"Before, local governments seldom paid the laborers they recruited, or paid them very little. This time, the Channel Department must remember to pay the laborers when organizing them. In peacetime, they should pay one tael of silver a month, and in wartime, they should pay two taels of silver a month. Don't be afraid to spend money, and maintain the relationship between the Royal Group and the people. In addition, while satisfying the needs of the combat soldiers, cultural performances, meat, candy and other supplies must also cover the laborers' team." Zhu Houxuan thought for a moment and added.

"Guarantee to complete the task!" Liu Hua said excitedly.

Sun Gong and Jiang Jianyuan also nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)