The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 207: Sudden Expedition
The Beijing camp suddenly set out on an expedition.

On the first day of June, Guihai, early in the morning, around the hour of Mao, when the sky was just getting light, there was a sudden thunderous sound of horseback riding in the south of the capital.

The cavalry of the Shenwu Camp rushed out from Nanyuan without any warning and headed straight for Xuanfu Town.

Immediately afterwards, tens of thousands of imperial guards and light cavalry swarmed out of the Mountain Resort and headed straight to the west.

At around 7:00 am, the two long dragons met in Changping Prefecture.

They continued to march forward, heading straight for Xuanfu Town.

Moreover, after the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp came out, the food carts and artillery carts of the Shenji Camp followed.

It is obvious that the Beijing Camp is not conducting a drill this time.

Because the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp have arrived at Xuanfu Town and are still galloping westward.

The long line of cavalry, food carts and artillery carts was three or four hundred miles long, and troops and vehicles were still being dispatched from the direction of Nanyuan.

The hot summer had just begun, and the Beijing army had already set out to fight. The civil servants in the court had never expected this.

They all thought that the Beijing army would not set out until the autumn harvest, because there was no food or fodder in Datong Town at the moment.

Who could have imagined that hundreds of thousands of troops would go to war without even preparing their own food?
In addition, the military examination and palace examination will be held in September and October. Can the Tumed tribe be defeated in three or four months?

That's a joke. The territory of the Tumed tribe is extremely large, covering an area of ​​more than a thousand miles. If they run around everywhere and don't fight with the Beijing troops, it may take three or four months to find their hiding place.

Are the military examinations and palace examinations not going to be held this year?

The young emperor valued military affairs so much over literature that he even ignored the military examinations and the palace examinations. Who could have imagined this?
The remnants of the three major families in Puzhou had never been thought of.

Wanli's sudden illness really caught them off guard.

If Wanli led 90,000 cavalrymen to attack the grazing areas of the Tumed and Dalat tribes in one fell swoop, the Tumed and Dalat tribes would definitely suffer heavy losses, and might even be wiped out by Wanli in one fell swoop.

They, Sanniangzi and Chelike all thought that the Beijing camp would not attack until October at the earliest. The battle might drag on for one or two years. At this time, the tribes belonging to the Tumed tribe had not even started to migrate and hide.

This frightened the remnants of the three major families in Puzhou, and they tried their best to send people to the Tumed headquarters to report the news.

If Wanli really wanted to launch a surprise attack, he could reach the grazing areas of the Tumed and Dalat tribes in three days!
Fortunately, Wanli was not so sick. Leading an army of hundreds of thousands without any food to march towards the frontier was not to conquer the northern barbarians, but to seek death.

At around noon, the cavalry vanguard arrived at the river bank south of Zhangjiakou and stopped to set up camp.

It was the hottest time of the day, and the bright sun was burning people like a furnace.

Wanli was so hot that his inner clothes were almost soaked.

He was still wearing armor, and the armor plates were a little hot.

To be honest, it’s really not suitable to go on an expedition in the middle of summer.

However, he had no choice. If he did not set out on the expedition in June, he might not be able to capture the former territory of the Beijing Xingdusi this year. They still had to transport food and supplies for more than two months.

The sound of horseback riding was still heard in the river valley of Xuanfu Town, but the imperial guards in front had already slowed down and entered the huge camp surrounded by mountains.

Wanli put one hand on his brow and looked forward, then rode his horse towards where Dong Yikui and a group of border army generals gathered.

At this moment, the tents in the camp had not been set up yet. The entire camp was filled with soldiers from the Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards who had arrived earlier. Wanli and Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan were still dressed as officers from the Beijing Camp and were wearing armor. Dong Yikui had not even noticed that they had arrived.

Only when Wanli rode his horse closer did he see it.

He hurriedly led a group of officers to meet them, bowed and said, "Greetings to His Majesty, and to the Imperial Concubine."

This scorching sun is really unbearable.

Wanli rode his horse directly to them, then reined in his horse, jumped off, and waved hurriedly, "No need to be polite, let's go and talk in the pavilion."

Fortunately, Dong Yikui was very thoughtful and built a large shed nearby. Inside, there was a long table about ten feet long and half a foot wide, with many kettles and cups on it.

Wanli really couldn't stand the heat. After all, he was the emperor, and he rarely stayed in such a strong sun, let alone for most of the day.

He saw that the water in the cup on the table was already filled, so he picked it up and poured it into his mouth.

Li Xuancheng was quick-witted and snatched the cup from him, drinking it in one gulp. He then smacked his lips and said, "Wow, this water is surprisingly cool."

After saying that, he picked up the kettle and poured a cup, drank it until he was full, and then poured another cup and handed it to Wanli.

He was not showing off that he was Wanli's uncle or deliberately snatching Wanli's water to drink. He was doing this for Wanli's safety.

Wanli took the cup and drank it in one gulp. It was actually ice-cold. After one sip, he didn't feel so hot anymore.

He handed the cup to Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, signaling her to drink some quickly. Then he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Yikui, do you have ice here too?"

Dong Yikui nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, the soldiers heard that ice is very profitable and many people want it, so they dug a lot of ice cellars."

Is ice still profitable?

Wanli couldn't help but wonder, "How much money can you make from ice?" Dong Yikui gestured, "Your Majesty, a block of ice about a foot square is one penny. Each soldier can easily carve out dozens of blocks a day. Some soldiers who are not afraid of the cold can stand shirtless on the frozen river surface and knock out a hole about ten feet in radius with a big hammer. That's dozens of ice cubes.

This guy makes dozens of pieces a day, which is more than ten or twenty taels of silver a month. Last winter, many soldiers were practicing winter swimming. They just smashed a big hole, fell in, and threw ice cubes on top. That guy, the river surface was full of holes because of them.

Uh, is ice really that profitable?
Wanli couldn't help asking again, "Who bought so much ice?"

Dong Yikui explained, "A lot of people buy ice. Rich families use ice in the summer, and fishmongers and meat sellers also need it. Many merchants in the capital come here to buy it in their quilt-wrapped boats."

Why are you talking about ice cubes?

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan fetched a fan and towel from horseback, and began fanning him while handing him the towel. She asked with concern, "Your Majesty, are you still hot?"

After standing in a cool place and drinking a glass of ice water, the hot feeling disappeared immediately.

He was indeed interested in ice because of a certain play called "Fist of Fury" or something, in which the main character worked in an ice-making factory.

This shows that before refrigerators were invented, there was a huge demand for ice, and the richer the people were, the greater the demand for ice.

It is unlikely that refrigerators will appear within the next one or two hundred years, so the ice business still has room for development.

Now the Ming Dynasty has not really entered its heyday, and there are not many common people with spare money. When all common people have spare money, ice cubes will probably be used by every household. Who can't afford ice cubes at only one cent a piece?

This business seems to be able to make a lot of money. If nothing else, at least it can provide a way for the border soldiers stationed in the cold areas to make money.

Wanli took the towel and wiped his sweat, then asked, "Yikui, is it dangerous to use a sledgehammer to break the ice on the river?"

Dong Yikui shook his head repeatedly and said, "There's no danger. Those who dare to do this have grown up playing in the river and are very good swimmers. Without this ability, they wouldn't dare to do this."

It seems that this business is really viable, and winter swimming can also keep fit.

However, he didn't come here to discuss business, so we'll talk about that later.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Yikui, how many grain carts do you have? Are they all ready?"

Dong Yikui nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, there are 5,000 grain carts in Xuanfu Town, all ready, inside the city of Zhangjiakou."

Five thousand vehicles are a bit few, but Xuanfu Town is close, so it doesn’t take much time to go back and forth.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, then send a deputy general with the grain carts to follow the grain carts of the Shenji Camp to Datong Town."

Uh, going to Datong Town?

Doesn’t Datong Town have little food and supplies?

He thought that grain was being transported from the capital to Datong Town.

Dong Yikui was quite puzzled, but he still bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Wanli did not explain because he did not want the news to leak out. The last incident with the three major families in Puzhou was a lesson.

If the news leaks out this time, it will be troublesome if the three major wealthy families in Puzhou go crazy and burn grain.

He didn't say it, and at that time, except Li Tingji, no one knew that he was going to reduce the power of the princes.

At this moment, a horse suddenly came galloping over. A general as strong as a mountain dismounted directly, walked quickly into the pavilion, and bowed and said, "Report, Your Majesty, all the troops of the Shenwu Front Camp have arrived."

Are you here to see your aunt?

Why report such a trivial matter?

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, let the soldiers set up camp and rest, and then set off again at 11:00 AM tomorrow morning."

Qin Bangping quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

After that, he smiled innocently at the Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and said, "Auntie, I heard that you gave birth to a little prince."

Did you just hear about it now?

This kid dreams of becoming a general. After becoming a general, he even forgot about his aunt and didn't come to the palace to visit for such a long time.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan wiped the sweat off his face and poured him a glass of ice water before asking, "How's it going? Have you learned how to lead troops in battle?"

Hearing this, Qin Bangping slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, I still have to quickly arrange for them to set up camp and rest. Aunt, I'm leaving first."

After saying that, he poured the ice water into his mouth, put the cup on the table, walked out quickly, jumped on his horse, and galloped towards his soldiers.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan saw this and said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, this kid is so naive that he even forgot to say goodbye to you."

This proves that this kid has subconsciously treated me as his own family.

Wanli smiled slightly and said, "We are family, there is no need to be so polite."

(End of this chapter)