The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 687 Building a Defense Line
Emperor Wanli actually wanted to conscript four million able-bodied men from vassal states to help him!
Putting aside wages for now, I don't know how much meat I'll need to prepare.

That's four million mouths to feed, and they're all young and strong, and they have to do physical labor every day.

They need to prepare a massive amount of meat every day.

Meat is essentially the food supply for the able-bodied young men of a vassal state. If there isn't enough meat to eat, then things will be in trouble.

This was no laughing matter. After sending off the kings of the vassal states, Wanli ordered his men to summon Qin Yiming, Deng Zilong, Li Guozhu, Wang Rulong, Li Rusong, and other generals.

They no longer need to stand in the ship's cabin, which is decorated like a grand hall.

Emperor Wanli immediately summoned them to sit around the large table in the middle of the screen, and then solemnly said, "I have already spoken with the kings of the vassal states. This time, we will recruit four million able-bodied men from the vassal states to help us."

As the saying goes, "an army marches on its stomach," even though they are not here to fight, we still need to prepare food for the able-bodied men of our vassal states in advance.

"Yunqing, you should know their appetites quite well, right? How many meals do they eat a day? What kind of cooking methods do they like? What seasonings do they need? And how much meat do they eat at each meal?"

How do you say this?

Deng Zilong thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, it seems they originally ate two meals a day."

However, after we hired them to work, they seemed to get hungry quickly if they didn't eat something in the morning, and they couldn't muster any energy at all.

Seeing that this wouldn't work, I had them eat breakfast before they started working, and gradually they got used to eating three meals a day.

As for what kind of cooking methods they like, they don't know how to cook very well. If you let them cook, they'll either grill it or make soup.

They can grill or boil beef, fish, and even corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes.

If you roast it, they'll find it incredibly delicious with a little salt and cumin; if you boil it, they'll find it equally delicious with some spices and vegetables.

As for how much meat they can eat in a day, in the morning they have meat soup, and each person can't even eat a pound of meat in one meal.

They eat grilled meat with broth for lunch and dinner, and their appetites differ accordingly. Some eat about two pounds in one meal, while others eat only about one pound, averaging about one and a half pounds per person per meal.

This means that four catties of meat per person per day would be enough, and for four million people that would be sixteen million catties.

As for seasonings, salt and spices are enough; cumin is also a spice.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "How many wild buffalo are there here? Have you ordered someone to roughly count them?"

Uh, I haven't sent anyone to count them.

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong carefully explained, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Most of the bison herds are located in the territory of this vassal state. Each time, we simply send boats to take our soldiers and warships over for hunting. I have never sent anyone to count them."

However, according to them, there are definitely more bison here than their human population; I estimate there are at least forty to fifty million.

You didn't even send someone to roughly count the numbers?
This is not okay.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then explained carefully, "Yunqing, we cannot hunt these wild buffalo indiscriminately."

These bison are one of the meat sources for the vassal states here, and we cannot hunt them all down just because we need to gather able-bodied men for work.

If we hunt all the bison to death, they will lose a major source of meat, which will be extremely detrimental to their survival and reproduction.

Therefore, we need to roughly investigate the situation of the bison herd and make a plan before killing them.

We can't just hunt down all the bison in a certain area; otherwise, the bison will disappear in patches and they won't be able to reproduce.

Uh, I haven't really thought about those things.

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then slowly glanced around before decisively saying, "Rusong and Weizhong, the task of investigating and hunting bison is entrusted to you."

Ru Song first sent out scouts to investigate the approximate location and number of bison herds, and for distant areas, they took flying dragon boats, while Wei Zhong was in charge of the hunt.

We can't just feed the four million young men from our vassal states that we've conscripted this time with beef. Let's say half of that is beef every day, that's eight million catties.

If we calculate based on a bison weighing 1,000 jin each, that would be around 8,000.

You need to plan the hunting schedule carefully, ensuring around 8,000 bison per day. Also, each herd should only be hunted up to halfway; don't kill them all. Furthermore, Weizhong, when your soldiers go hunting, be careful not to surround the cows and calves.

In this way, as long as no natural disasters occur in the area where each bison herd is located, the bison will have enough grass to eat, and they will eventually reproduce back to their original numbers.

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong and Wu Weizhong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your subordinates understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Yunqing, how many large fishing boats are there here, and how many kilograms of fish can they catch each day?"

Deng Zilong explained in detail: "Your Majesty, this humble general from the North American Eastern Capital Command has requested the dispatch of five large fishing boats."

There are quite a lot of fish here. Each large fishing boat can catch about 100,000 catties in one trip. If they fish day and night, each fishing boat can catch about five trips a day.

In other words, each large fishing boat can catch approximately 500,000 jin (250,000 kg) of fish per day, so five boats would catch over 2.5 million jin (1.25 million kg).

This quantity is far from enough.

The vassal states need to send eight million catties of young and strong men every day, and with so many people, they need to send at least two million catties every day.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly and then instructed, "The fishing boats on Rusong and Weizhong's side are clearly not enough, and it will take at least two more months to get fishing boats from the Ming mainland."

"Over the next two months, the able-bodied men of the vassal states will gradually arrive. When that time comes, if you don't have enough fish and meat, you'll need to hunt more wild buffalo."

Upon hearing this, Li Rusong and Wu Weizhong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your subordinates understand."

After careful consideration, Wanli decisively said, "Yunqing, you will send the Flying Dragon Ship to catch up with Kemai's fleet and convey my imperial edict."

Three things. The first is the fishing boats. You need to tell Kemai to bring fifteen large fishing boats with him on his return voyage this time.

The second thing is corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes. There are plenty of them in Nurgan Commandery. Tell him to send a fast boat to pick them up, and bring as many as he can.

The third thing is about Wanshengtang. This time, they not only need to send more goods, but also need to send dozens of merchants over first.

I have already discussed with the kings of the vassal states that we will help them build docks and cities, and set up shops for them within the cities.

After these merchants arrive, we need to ask them what goods they need and how much they can buy each year. Then we can arrange for ships to deliver goods specifically for them.

Also, have them bring more salt and spices this time. You can calculate how much that will consume for four million able-bodied men from the vassal states.”

Deng Zilong heard this and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I understand."

After thinking for a moment, Wanli instructed in detail: "Yi Kui, I'm entrusting the coastal defense line of the Eastern Metropolitan Commandery in North America to you."

First, use your naval fleet to disperse your troops to the places where you need to build fortresses and beacon towers.

When the able-bodied men from the vassal states are brought over, you will be in charge of their placement. Try to have them do simple tasks, such as digging clay, making mud bricks, and digging foundations.

Furthermore, a small lighthouse must be built on each beacon tower to help passing ships identify their location when navigating at night.

Upon hearing this, Dong Yikui nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

That should be about right.

Wanli thought about it carefully for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, you all hurry up and get ready."

The generals responded with a resounding roar and rose to take their leave.

With the emperor himself in charge, no one dared to be negligent.

Within a few days, the able-bodied men and women brought from Xuanfu Town began to spread along the coast of Dongdusi in North America.

Immediately afterwards, batches of young and strong men from the vassal states were also brought over.

The number of black dots on the coastline of the Eastern Capital in North America kept increasing, and cities, fortresses, and beacon towers sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

The American defense line was taking shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

(End of this chapter)