The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 648 Invincible on Land
The current strength of the Ming Dynasty is truly terrifying.

This is reflected not only in material resources, but also in human resources, which are quite abundant.

The garrison was fully recruited in less than a month.

The number of garrison soldiers they need to recruit is not small.

If we exclude the 800,000 remaining from this year's selection, they will need to recruit as many as 1.2 million garrison soldiers.

In the past, it would have taken several months just to gather such a large force.

They completed the selection process in less than a month.

That’s nothing.

The railway that Song Yingxing was in charge of was completed in less than a month.

This is a railway stretching over a thousand miles, and it's bidirectional. There are six or seven hundred thousand rails alone, and four or five million sleepers. The cost alone is terrifying, and the construction speed is even more astonishing.

In the past, the entire Ming Dynasty probably couldn't even muster 600,000 to 700,000 rails and 4 to 5 million sleepers. Even if they could, they wouldn't be able to transport them all.

Now they can easily haul over not only rails and sleepers, but also hundreds of thousands or even millions of rails and sleepers at a time, and install them quickly.

On the 28th day of the fifth month, around dawn, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, the vast Ming army camp on the south bank of the Alun River began to echo with commands.

Then came the thunderous sound of hooves, like rolling thunder.

The soldiers of the Divine Martial Battalion are preparing to set off.

At this time, trains were still used to haul goods, and could not carry many people, so large armies still set out in the same way as before.

The Shenwu Camp cavalry were the first wave to set out on the expedition.

Amidst the shouts of commands, the tents within a radius of dozens of miles around the main tent vanished rapidly, and the Shenwu Camp cavalry quickly formed square formations.

The cavalry formations stretched westward like neat fields, one after another, their boundaries invisible even to telescopes.

Around 7:00 AM, as the sun began to rise, Emperor Wanli, accompanied by Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and Xiao Zhu Changxun, rode out of the Shenji Camp and arrived in front of the densely packed square formation.

At this time, Qi Jiguang, Zhu Changxu (the Northern King), Li Rusong, Qin Bangping, Cao Wenzhao, and others were already lined up at the front of the formation, waiting.

Emperor Wanli surveyed the room with a stern expression before solemnly saying, "Xu'er, Yuan Jing is the commander-in-chief, and you must obey his orders in everything."

Prince Zhu Changxu of the North quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your subject understands."

Wanli then carefully instructed, "Yuanjing, there's no need to rush this battle. If you can advance a thousand li in a month, that's good enough. Otherwise, the food and supplies might not be able to keep up."

This battle is unlikely to end this year.

Qi Jiguang quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

This time, there's no need for a grand send-off ceremony; the soldiers are used to conquering new territories.

Emperor Wanli nodded slowly, then carefully examined the area before solemnly saying, "Yuanjing, it's up to you now. I await your good news."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang nodded solemnly, bowed deeply to him, then turned his horse around, raised his hand, and announced loudly, "Shenwu Battalion, march forth!"

With the commander's flag pointing west, the front ranks of the square formations immediately transformed into long dragons, bypassing the now-empty camp and rushing westward.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but say enviously, "Father, I really want to go on the expedition with my second brother."

What can you do if you go with someone so young?
Emperor Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Xun'er, you are going to inherit the throne, so you absolutely cannot do such dangerous things."

Alas, what a pity that the emperor cannot lead thousands of troops into battle.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu and Chang Xun couldn't help but sigh.

Upon hearing this, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan couldn't help but ask with concern, "Your Majesty, will Xu'er be alright?"

I was talking about this little fellow, how did you bring up Xu'er?

Wanli shook his head slightly and patiently explained, "Don't worry, the Shenwu Battalion soldiers are now equipped with 200,000 revolver rifles, making us invincible on land."

Even if the enemy is equipped with muskets and cannons, we can still defeat them in one fell swoop with the speed of our cavalry. What's more, the Oirat don't even have muskets and cannons.

Besides, Xu'er is just learning from Yuan Jing; the commander-in-chief can't possibly charge into battle himself, and the enemy can't possibly get close enough to them.

That's good.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan was relieved upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, why can't I go?"

You boy.

Wanli patiently explained, "Your identity is special. If you go to the battlefield, Yuan Jing and the others will definitely do their best to protect your safety. You're not going to help them, you're going to cause them trouble, do you understand?"

Okay, I won't go and cause them any trouble.

Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded helplessly, then asked, "Father, when are we going there?"

Wanli estimated that "it would take the Shenwu Camp cavalry at least three days to cross Xing'alin, and it would take them at least three more days to launch a sweeping attack on the western grasslands."

"It will take the soldiers of the Shenji Vanguard Battalion at least six or seven days to get there by horse-drawn carriage. Let's wait six or seven days and then take the train."

Oh, there's a train to take?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, we'll take the train there then."

This little guy is easy to deal with.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Chang Geng, are the rails, sleepers, and gravel sufficient? We still need to build at least four thousand li of railway this year."

How do you say this?

After thinking carefully, Song Yingxing cautiously said, "Your Majesty, we have cast a lot of rails in advance, and with the continuous production that followed, it is barely enough."

However, the amount of sleepers and gravel was too large, and because we had stopped working for several months due to the ice, it was really difficult to prepare them all.

Your humble servant has already asked Lord Wang and Lord Peng for help; they will assist in processing the sleepers over there.

As for the gravel, I have ordered 500,000 garrison soldiers to break it up in the mountains near the station; that should not be a problem.”

Another issue is the transportation of grain.

Wanli pondered, “We will only leave 100,000 garrison troops here to load and unload grain and supplies, while the remaining 2 million troops will go to the west.”

These two million troops consume nearly two million shi of grain a month, not to mention meat, fruits, and vegetables. Have you calculated how many trains it would take to haul them all? How many trains would be enough?
Song Yingxing pondered and said, "Your Majesty, we currently have five trains running back and forth, making a round trip approximately every three days."

A train carriage can carry about 1,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), so ten carriages would carry 10,000 shi. Five trains would carry 50,000 shi for a round trip, and in a month, they could only carry 500,000 shi.

However, the ten Weiyuan warships that Lord Wang and his men modified will arrive in the next couple of days with ten trains, which will bring in 1.5 million shi of grain per month.

Moreover, after those ten Weiyuan warships arrive, they can then be transferred to the Summer Palace to continuously transport trains over.

If we calculate it this way, in ten days our monthly transport volume will exceed 2.5 million shi (a unit of dry measure). Once all the trains built at the Summer Palace are brought over, our monthly transport volume will exceed 4 million shi.

Your Majesty, do you think that's enough?

Didn't you calculate the distance to the end?
Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "If it's just the section from Alunhewei to the former Hailar Thousand Household Office, then this many trains are barely enough."

However, as we travel further west from Hailar Thousand Households, the distance will increase, and the time spent transferring trains will also increase accordingly. You need to factor this in.

Therefore, trains need to be continuously built and transported; thirty to forty more trains need to be added every month.

Uh, I forgot to calculate the additional distance later on.

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing slowly nodded, then carefully said, "Your Majesty, even if the Summer Palace were to operate at full capacity, it could only build a dozen or so trains in a month."

If we need to add thirty or forty more vehicles a month, we'll have to ask Lord Wang and Lord Peng for help.

Upon hearing this, Wanli replied without hesitation, "This is your responsibility. Have someone go and tell Liangfu and Danyang."

"Have Liangfu and Danyang bring over whatever supplies are needed here. In short, the trains must be sufficient, and the grain and supplies must be delivered on time."

Upon hearing this, Song Yingxing nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

As they were talking, a general from the Shenji Battalion suddenly rode up at full speed, cupped his hands, and announced loudly, "Your Majesty, General Deng and Lord Li request an audience."

Have Deng Zilong and Li Zhizao returned?

Perfect timing, he also wanted to ask about the situation in the Americas.

Upon hearing this, Wanli glanced at the cavalry abbot several miles away, whose ranks were continuously growing into a long line, and then waved his hand, saying, "Let's go back to camp."

The group turned their horses around and galloped away, quickly returning to the central command tents of the main camp.

At this time, Deng Zilong and Li Zhizao were waiting in a large tent specially set up with maps.

Emperor Wanli, accompanied by Zhu Changxun and Song Yingxing, went inside and saw a brand-new map of the Americas already laid out on a large table in the center.

The outline of this map is already very similar to later maps, but the markings and territorial divisions are quite different from those of later times.

The North American Western Capital, North American Eastern Capital, and South American Western Capital on the map are like replicas of the coastline inland, giving South America and North America three borders.

The Native American states, on the other hand, were like blocks, densely packed together.

There is a large blank area in western South America, namely Brazil, a Portuguese colony.

Wanli examined the map carefully, then pointed to the southernmost part of South America and asked, "Yunqing, why are there several more vassal states here? They weren't on the map last time."

Deng Zilong explained in detail: "This is what I ordered my soldiers to do, to take the envoys of the Native American countries to talk to the tribes in this area."

These tribes all wanted to live a prosperous life under the Ming Dynasty, so they reached an agreement after only a few casual talks.

Yes, Not Bad.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Are the gold, silver, and copper mines over there connected to the ports and wharves by railway?"

Deng Zilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, the railway has been connected for a long time. This makes it much more convenient to transport coal and ore. The output of gold, silver and copper mines over there is rising steadily."

"The gold production over there is now over two million taels a month, the silver production is over one million taels a month, and the copper production is approaching one million catties a month."

Great, now we're not short of money.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Are there enough trains available over there?"

When will this ever be enough?

Deng Zilong thought for a moment, then cautiously said, "Your Majesty, if the output of gold, silver and copper mines is to continue to rise, then naturally the more trains the better."

The more trains, the better.

The problem is, we can only produce this much right now.

Emperor Wanli pondered, "Now that we want to completely pacify the north, we also need a large number of trains."

Let's focus on supplying this area first. Once the North is completely pacified and the border towns have been relocated, we can then fully develop the Americas."

I don't know much about this development process.

You say how to do it, then we'll do it that way.

Deng Zilong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

After thinking for a moment, Wanli asked again, "Have our gold, silver, and copper coins been implemented in the vassal states over there?"

Deng Zilong nodded repeatedly and said, "They all really like our gold, silver, and copper coins."

Originally, the gold, silver, and copper coins I brought were intended to reward the soldiers of the vassal state and pay the wages to the young men I recruited.

As a result, things got out of control. Countless people in the vassal states wanted it, and their intention was that even if they didn't use it, they would still like to keep it for fun.

Many kings have even offered me gold, silver, or even timber in exchange, but alas, I have none.

These gold, silver, and copper coins have become someone's collectibles?
Wanli nodded slightly, thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Then when you go there this time, bring some gifts for the kings of the vassal states. Give each king one hundred of each kind of gold, silver, and copper coin."

Tell them that our current production of gold, silver, and copper coins is limited, and we can't release the supply freely yet. It will be better next year; then they can exchange as many as they want.

Are you still giving it to them?

Deng Zilong nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands?"

Wanli thought for a moment, then carefully instructed, "Zhenzhi, let's leave the map of the Americas as it is for now."

"We've already begun our campaign against the Oirats. Tomorrow, take the surveying wagons and the train to Hailar to gradually fill in this blank area in the north."

There's a new map drawn again.

Li Zhizao nodded enthusiastically and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)