The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 568: How the Jiannu were Cunning and Victorious
Time flies, and it is already September.

The rice and wheat harvests in the capital are about to begin, and the Wuxu military examination is about to begin.

The martial arts candidates gathered in the capital early on.

Wanli also began to think about where to hold the military examination.

It definitely won’t work in the capital. The military examination is to select generals who lead troops to fight, not civil servants.

He couldn't let the generals he selected be like weak scholars, so it would be best if the military examination could be tested on the battlefield.

The current capital city has nothing to do with the battlefield, and holding a martial arts examination there feels a bit out of place.

Nanyuan Parade Ground doesn't seem to be a good option either, as there isn't any battlefield atmosphere there.

After much deliberation, he decided to bring all the military candidates to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission to hold the joint examination and the palace examination.

Although the war had not yet begun, the Jiannu were still entrenched in the former Donghai Jurchen territory.

Moreover, he will have to deal with the hidden danger of the Jiannu sooner or later, and the martial arts candidates can also gain some experience there.

He always leaves without consulting anyone.

Early in the morning at about 1 a.m., just as the sky was getting light, tens of thousands of imperial guards and Jinyiwei boarded the ships and prepared to set off.

The Taiye Lake in the imperial city was soon filled with hundreds of navy speedboats.

At this moment, Kunning Palace was very quiet. The teams of eunuchs and palace maids walked very carefully, as if they were afraid of making any noise and waking up the little princes and princesses.

Little Zhu Changxun had just gotten up.

He quickly washed up and was about to go horseback riding with Wanli on the Imperial City Avenue.

Unexpectedly, the person who ran in to hug him was Princess Rongchang.

He jumped directly into his eldest sister's arms, and then couldn't help asking, "Sister, why are you here? Will you go horseback riding with me today?"

I can't tell you yet.

Princess Rongchang said mysteriously, "Little Xunxun, don't talk, or you might wake up your brothers and sisters."

Uh, why not call all your brothers and sisters to play together?
Little Zhu Changxun felt inexplicably awe-inspiring.

However, he remained silent.

When Princess Rongchang carried him to the corridor outside, Wanli, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and Princess Yunhe were already waiting there.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and Princess Yunhe whispered something, and they actually got out of Kunning Palace like thieves, walked quickly through Qianqing Palace, and then got on the carriage that had been waiting there.

What is this for?

The hooves of the horses pulling the carriage seemed to be wrapped in thick cloth, and there was not even a sound of their hooves!

Seeing the carriage moving, little Zhu Changxun finally couldn't help but whisper, "Father, where are we going? Why are we so sneaky?"

We have to be sneaky this time.

If the little ones knew about this, they would definitely clamor to go and play with us.

If parents don't want to take a bunch of children with them when they go on a long trip, it's best for them to leave quietly.

Wanli whispered, "We are going to Nurgandusi to hold the military examination and the palace examination. This time it is a serious matter, so we can't take your brothers and sisters with us to play."

Oh, so we are going to Nurgandusi!
Upon hearing this, little Zhu Changxun couldn't help but dance with joy.

However, he still didn't say anything, as he knew it would be terrible to wake up his younger brothers and sisters.

They sneaked to the Taiye Lake Wharf, boarded a navy speedboat, passed through the water gates of the imperial city and the inner city, and joined up with thousands of navy speedboats waiting in the moat.

This fleet of more than a thousand speedboats sped along the Tonghui River, Beiyun River, and Haihe River to the Daming Inland Sea, heading straight for the Nurgan Regional Administration in the north.

At this moment, the Nurgandusi has completely changed its appearance. The Daliao River, the Songliao Grand Canal, and both sides of the Songhua River and the Nenjiang River are all endless farmlands.

Moreover, the rice, wheat, and corn in the farmland have begun to turn yellow, and the rice ears, wheat ears, and corn cobs have swelled up, and a good harvest is about to come.

In addition, the hundred-household units, thousand-household units, and citadels along the way have built walls one or two meters high. The entire route is densely dotted with cities and fortresses, which is simply spectacular.

When Wanli saw this scene, he was very pleased, and the tens of thousands of military candidates who came with him were even more excited.

They had been traveling for nearly ten days. Although they mostly went upstream after crossing the inland sea, it was still no problem for the navy's speedboat to travel two or three hundred miles a day.

How many miles did they run along the way, and how big is this territory?
Also, how many military farms and cities and fortresses are there on both sides of the Liao River and the Grand Canal?

When the fleet arrived near Zhaozhouwei, it was already around 5 p.m. on the tenth day.

When Wanli saw the huge city at the end of the canal, he couldn't help but show a look of shock.

How big a city do these guys want to build?
It was true that he approved the memorial to build Beiwang City, but he did not expect that these guys would build Beiwang City so big.

The city wall on each side is probably more than ten miles long!

The inner city of the capital doesn’t seem to be this big yet.

There is also a canal dock outside the city, which looks like a large canal about a mile wide was dug horizontally. No one knows how many ships can be accommodated in it.

He scanned the area carefully. The fleet had already entered the dock area and their ship had docked at the main pier covered with red carpet. Northern King Zhu Changxu, Qi Jiguang, Zhang Yuande, Qin Bangping, Xu Guangqi, Wang Xiangjin, and others were already waiting at the dock.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, the scene suddenly became a little chaotic.

This guy, Northern King Zhu Changxu, actually threw himself directly into the arms of Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan.

Princess Rongchang stuffed little Zhu Changxun into Li Xuancheng's arms, and then ran to whisper to Qin Yiming.

Seeing this, Wanli just shook his head and smiled, then asked, "Yuan Jing, why is Beiwang City built so big?"

This isn't just my idea.

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "Your Majesty, they all say that this place is like the Jiangnan region in the north, with numerous rivers and fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles.

After all the wastelands here are turned into fertile fields, the grain produced will probably be more than that of Nanzhili. By then, this place will surely become more and more prosperous, and may even be comparable to Nanjing.

We have discussed this with His Royal Highness the Northern King and have decided that it would be best to build the city as large as possible, so that we don’t run out of space for business in the future.”

Jiangnan in the North?
This description is quite apt.

If it weren't for the cold winters here, it might really be as prosperous as Jinling.

You have actually learned to look at things from a developmental perspective, which is really good.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Is there any movement from the Jiannu?"

These guys are really hard to deal with.

Qi Jiguang sighed secretly, then explained in detail: "Your Majesty, our navy warships are investigating the Asuri River and Pipa Lake every day.

The border cavalry has also been investigating the mountains west of Shuangchengwei, but we haven't found any large numbers of them.

These guys are just building stone forts scattered all over the mountains. There are countless stone forts built on both sides of every accessible mountain valley."

Nurhaci is so cunning. This guy just wants to lure their army into the mountains.

The Sichuan Army soldiers were not afraid of them in the mountains, but the problem was that these guys avoided fighting when they felt they could not win.

If the Sichuan Army soldiers were lined up in a line and pushed forward from south to north, this guy would definitely continue to run away with his men, and it would be possible for him to escape from Yongle Mountain.

In this case, we must gather enough troops on the periphery to encircle the area.

If the Sichuan Army soldiers were allowed to disperse and search, there would be a danger of being defeated one by one.

It's really troublesome that these guys are hiding in the mountains and not coming out. Such a large mountain area is enough for them to hunt and survive.

Wanli thought for a moment and simply waved his hand, saying, "Nurgandusi map."

The imperial guards quickly unfolded the map of Nurgandusi in front of him and Qi Jiguang.

These days he has been staring at the map of Nurgandusi and thinking about it.

The mountainous area of ​​the Donghai Jurchen tribe, which is more than 2,000 miles long and 400 to 500 miles wide, is really a headache to look at.

He stared at the map again, frowning and thinking for a while, then he said solemnly: "Yuan Jing, I'm afraid we will have to mobilize a large number of navy warships to wipe out the Jiannu.

I intend to leave the east and north to the navy, and we will mobilize the soldiers of the Beijing camp and the border cavalry to block the west. Liang Yu will lead 400,000 Sichuan troops to push through from the south. What do you think?"

What do I think?
How many naval and land forces would be needed to mobilize this?

Qi Jiguang looked at the map and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the east is all sea. The Jiannu don't have any warships. So there's no need for us to blockade them, right?"

If you think so, how could Nurhaci not think of it?

Wanli shook his head slowly, then pointed at the map and said, "The Sea of ​​Tartary is not very wide. They can make some sheepskin rafts or even nail wooden rafts to cross to Kuyi Island.

At that time, they will go north along Kuyi Island, cross the mouth of Heilongjiang River, and then cross the sea west to reach the north of Heilongjiang River.

We have to be on guard against this. What you can think of, Nurhaci can certainly think of as well. He probably has this preparedness."

You really want to block the sea route!
This is more than 2,000 miles. Even if we send a warship for every mile, that would require more than 2,000 warships. And the winding section north of the Heilongjiang River is also more than 2,000 miles long, which requires at least 2,000 warships.

And the area to the west is more than a thousand miles. To prevent the enemy from breaking through the gap, we can't just send a few troops sparsely. We need at least four or five hundred thousand chariots and cavalry here.

If we add the 400,000 Sichuan troops who are having trouble pushing north, the total number of troops will be more than one million.

Moreover, with so many troops, at least several thousand naval speedboats would have to be mobilized to transport food and supplies.

How much hatred is this?

You actually want to mobilize nearly two million land and sea troops to encircle and suppress tens of thousands of Jian slaves!
Okay, if you want to mobilize so many people, then there is naturally no problem.

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. With so many troops, there will definitely be no problem."

The question is when will the war begin?

This depends on when the food and supplies can be prepared. The food and supplies for an army of more than one or two million are no joke.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go into the city and talk."

(End of this chapter)