Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 682 Postscript ([-]) Emperor Beng

"Dang...dang...dang..."

In May, as the summer heat swept across the Arabian Peninsula, boats carrying immigrants also sailed into Yongyi (Muscat), the capital of Yongguo.

Yongguo, a country that has been established for 27 years, is actually a new country in a sense, but in terms of national strength, it may be the first few vassals among the more than [-] vassals inside and outside the Ming Dynasty. .

The strength of Yongguo comes from its close relationship with Zhu Ciran and Zhu Heyin.

Since Yongguo took root in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, Yongguo has hardly worried about the issue of migration money needed for immigration.

In the past 27 years, the Ming Dynasty sent 20 rebels to this place and relocated 40 immigrants.

So right now, Yongguo is already a powerful country with a population of more than [-] Han Chinese and more than [-] natives.

Under the circumstances that the armies of all feudal lords were restricted, Daming's military establishment for Yongguo was also extremely relaxed, so even though Yongguo only had a population of 80, it had a full [-] troops.

In this era when oil is still unable to play a role in industry, according to common sense, it is impossible for such a powerful country to emerge in the Arabian Peninsula.

However, with Yongguo backed by the huge economic market of Ming Dynasty, Yongguo's strength is unquestionable.

Construction materials such as gypsum, salt, lime, clay, quartz sand, shale, and marble are the main resources exported by Yongguo.

Relying on these resources, plus the annual subsidy of 20 taels of silver from domestic funds, it is not difficult for Yongguo to maintain an army of [-].

However, as King Yong, Zhu Cixuan had his own worries.

First of all, nearly [-]% of Yongguo's land is desert, and it is difficult to engage in agricultural production, so food is highly dependent on imports.

In addition, the relationship between Yongguo and Daming may be maintained until Zhu Heyin's generation, but if the blood relationship becomes weaker in the future, the internal funds will definitely not be willing to spend money to maintain the army for Yongguo.

Therefore, the situation forced Zhu Cixuan to expand, and the only direction Zhu Cixuan could expand was the Ottoman Empire at his doorstep.

Originally, Zhu Ciyun wanted to repeat the operation of the year, inviting Dingguo, Mongolia, and Ruiguo to jointly fight against the Ottomans.

However, the news that Dingguo and Mongolia jointly attacked Tsarist Russia made his idea miscalculated.

Dingguo and Mongolia couldn't get out of the country, so with the [-] troops of Yongguo and Ruiguo, it was difficult to compete with Ottoman who had recuperated for several years.

Therefore, for the development of Yongguo, Zhu Ciyun wrote a handwritten copy in May, asking his own emperor to consider the two brothers of Zhu Heyin and take Egypt as one of his vassal states, while he himself would send troops to the Ottoman Iraqi region .

Emperor Zhu Ciran had three sons, Prince Zhu Heyin who was 45 years old, King Chen Zhu Hedi who was 42 years old, and King Ji Zhu He who was 39 years old.

Right now, both King Chen and King Ji have not closed their kingdoms, so Zhu Ciyun's proposal can be said to be just right.

When this letter was sent to Beijing, the 63-year-old Zhu Ciran finally decided to take over the Egyptian region after careful consideration and canonized it as the vassal state of King Chen.

However, due to the annual repayment of the national debt, Daming's financial income is not particularly rich.

Therefore, Zhu Ciran wrote back to his younger brother, asking him to prepare his troops and wait for the next winter to send troops.

At the same time, Zhu Ciran ordered Shi Lang, the governor of the navy's governor's office, and Zheng Jingtong, the deputy governor, to prepare for the [-]th battalion of the navy.

In July, King Louis XIV of France wrote to Daming, hoping to send [-] children to study in Daming, but was rejected.

On the fifth day of August, Jin Fu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, was ordered to inspect the waterways of Gyeonggi, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River.

On August 22, the telegraph line between the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty was completed, which means that the communication between the six ministries of the two capitals only takes a few minutes.

On the first day of September, the State of Qi introduced Daming's telegraph technology, combined with domestic research, to improve the telegraph, increasing the original 32 groups of characters per minute to [-] groups.

On September 25th, Qi Wang Zhu Cihuang ordered the Ministry of Industry to lay telegraph lines and build telegraph and cable factories in 150 prefectures and [-] counties across the country.

On the first day of October, Wang Dang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, said:

"The Guochao railway has more than [-] miles so far, and all provinces and counties are connected. There is no need to build a large railway. Today, the annual expenditure of the railway is more than [-] million taels. If the railway stops, all industries will prosper and the national treasury will be rich. "

On the second day of the second day of the lunar new year, Emperor Zhu issued a memorandum, announcing that he would no longer overhaul the railway. At the same time, he handed over the remaining 2000 million taels of budget for the next year after the suspension of the railway to Hedao and Telegraph respectively.

On October [-]th, the Glorious Revolution broke out in Britain. The bourgeoisie and the new aristocrats decided to overthrow the rule of James II.

The next day, seven celebrities from the Whig Party and the Tory Party came forward to invite James II's son-in-law, William, the ruling Prince of Orange of the Netherlands, to come to England to protect religion, freedom and property in England.

William, a Protestant, gladly accepted the invitation when the news arrived, and on October [-] issued a proclamation calling for the restoration of the inheritance to his wife Mary, the eldest daughter of James II's first wife.

On the [-]th of the winter month, William led [-] troops to land in Tor Bay. The news reached London that James II did not flee to Germany as in history.

With the support of Daming and Qi, the King of England had a royal army of 5 as early as Charles I.

Although at the instigation of the bourgeois nobles, nearly 2 people broke away from the royal army and went to Tor Bay to join William, but James II was not timid.

While leading an army of [-] to deploy defenses around London, he sent letters of appeal to Qi and France across the ocean.

In the letter, James II hoped that Qi and France would send troops to help him defeat William, and said that he was willing to pay for the army.

The letter arrived in France first, but King Louis XIV of France was preparing for the next year's European war at this time, so he did not reply to James II.

One month later, when the messenger ship was intercepted by the Qi State Navy at sea, the messenger and the ship were arranged to go to Beiyang County (Newfoundland Island) in Hejian Prefecture to rest.

This county is an island of Qi facing Europe. Although the island is large in size, all the people living on it are the navy and their families.

Although it is a navy, Qi State is the same as Daming, and the fleets facing the Daming Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are different.

Facing the Daming Sea, the navies of the two countries are all armored cruisers, and facing the European ships that may appear in the Atlantic Ocean at any time, both Qi and Daming use old-fashioned wooden sail battleships.

Therefore, when the British landed in Beiyang County, they did not see a series of industrial products including trains, telegraphs, ironclad ships and steam engines, but only neat streets and wealthy soldiers and civilians.

Wells, the British envoy who landed on the island, wrote in his diary: "While the residents of London are still distressed by the rise in the price of rye bread, the residents here have already lived a life of at least one pound of fresh meat for each meal. Luxury living."

"They wear silk that nobles can only wear. Although there are no gorgeous patterns on the clothes, they still look generous and decent."

"They were tall, at least half a foot (15cm) taller than our soldiers."

"When we come here, we seem to have come to the giant country. No matter from the ships or the residents, the people or things in the Qi country are very tall."

At the end of the diary, Wells also deliberately wrote: "I hate the house here. Its door has something called a threshold. This thing is half a foot high, which makes it very inconvenient for me to enter the door. I really hope this thing can Sawed off."

In the first month of the 17th year of Gansheng, Wells did not wait for Qi to send troops, but for the suggestion of King Qi.

King Zhu Cilang of Qi believed that the distance between Qi State and Britain was too far, and it was difficult to guarantee the army's expedition. Therefore, he suggested that Qi State sell weapons, and King James II of England recruited troops to resist the invasion.

Disappointed by this reply, Wells could only choose to leave for England the next day.

On February [-]th, when he was about to arrive in England, he heard that King James II had lost the Battle of London. At this moment, he led the remaining [-] troops to retreat to Manchester, Wales.

Hearing the news, he hurried to Manchester, at this time the parliament and the bourgeois new aristocrats had already elected William and his wife Mary to be co-crowned as King of England.

James II knew very well that if there was no external help, he would soon be driven out of Great Britain by William and could only retreat to Ireland.

Therefore, after learning the news that Wells had arrived in Manchester, he quickly sent someone to call Wells.

After seeing James II, Wells also put forward the suggestion of Qi Wang Zhu Cihong.

James II was a little annoyed by this, but still announced the recruitment of [-] new troops, and at the same time asked Wells to take the [-] boxes of gold and silver coins he moved from London to Beiyang Island in Qi.

At the same time, Louis XIV of France on the other side of the English Channel also decided to continue to conquer foreign countries in order to fulfill his dream of dominating Europe.

In April, France embarked on a quick-run plan to invade the Holy Roman Empire.

At the same time, facing the ambitions of France, Leopold I, the king of the Holy Roman Empire, began to call on the major European powers and formed the Augsburg League with the Holy Roman Empire at its core.

In July, the French attacked and captured the Palatine, completely destroying the area the following year.

The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I sensed Louis XIV's intentions and immediately sent troops to fight. After the Austrian army withstood the chaos and failure at the beginning of the war, they finally stabilized the battle situation, allowing French King Louis XIV to fight against him before the war. The designated "blitz" battle plan was completely bankrupt.

When Europe was in full swing, Qi State completed the deal with Wells, and handed over enough flintlock guns and artillery for 3 people to Wells, and Wells paid 62 taels of gold silver.

At the same time as the transaction between the two countries was completed, the Ming Expeditionary Force arrived in Switzerland under the leadership of Shi Lang.

The army landed in the capital of Ruiguo, then went to the northern region, and called on the troops of Yongguo and Ruiguo to Chenbing to the north.

Seemingly feeling the malice of the Ming army, the terminally ill Muhammad IV transferred most of his troops to Iraq and Egypt, but this did not stop the Ming army's determination to regain lost ground.

On August 42th, after a month of material preparations, Naval Commander Shi Lang led the Northern Expedition with 6 warships, 3 navy and [-] Swiss troops.

The large army moved northward to break the city, and the navy's more than [-] supply ships continued to transport the supplies from Kunlun and Xiaoxiyang Supervisory Division to Ruiguo to the north.

On the ninth day of September, the Ming army successfully marched [-] miles northward from the Swiss border, broke through Cairo, and killed more than [-] Ottoman soldiers along the way.

The speed of the Ming army caught Zhu Cixuan on the other side of the strait off guard. He could only quickly lead the army in the Northern Expedition. However, because the Yongguo army did not have rifles and new artillery, the speed of the army's attack on the city was extremely slow.

When he was still leading the army to attack the Iraqi region, the Ming army had already expelled the Ottoman forces from Kunlun Continent and attacked the Arabian Peninsula.

On the fifth day of October, the Ottoman army retreated all the way to the north of the Euphrates River, and the Ming army stopped at the Euphrates River.

Compared with the siege and protracted war in Europe, the war of the Ming army can be described as hearty. It only defeated the 18 troops of the Ottoman Empire in less than three months. one.

On the sixth day of October, Shi Lang sent people to spread the news back to the country, and at the same time led the army to drive the Ottoman people in the territory to Ottoman, and arrested all the Kunlun slaves in the territory.

On October [-], Muhammad IV sent envoys to make peace.

On the [-]th day of the winter moon, Zhu Ciran, who was far away in the capital, received the news of the victory of the Ming army. He divided the territory won by the Ming army into four parts.

A part of the southern part of the Egyptian region was assigned to the Kingdom of Rui, the region of Egypt was assigned to the Kingdom of Chen, and the region of Iraq was assigned to the Kingdom of Yong.

It seemed that Zhu Ciran realized that his health was not good enough to support the second war, so Zhu Ciran assigned the Syria region to his youngest son Ji Wang Zhu He.

In addition, the Suez area connecting Kunlun Continent and Zhongzhou was set as the "Middle East Supervisory Commissioner". Soldiers, control the three battalions of soldiers and horses in the Middle East.

Finally, Emperor Zhu Ciran decreed that the Ministry of Households issued 50 taels of silver, and ordered Xiong Cilu to lead the captured captives and slaves to dig a canal in the Suez area.

In addition, Chen Wang Zhu Hedi took over the feudal domain immediately, and Chen Guo and Ji Guo had ten battalions, and the internal funds each provided 50 taels of silver each year to maintain the migration silver of the two countries.

On the third day of the twelfth lunar month, Emperor Zhu Ci ran Shi Lang to negotiate with the Ottoman envoy, asking Ottoman to recognize the Ming army's ownership of the Dashi Peninsula and the Egyptian region.

When the news reached the front line, it was already the seventeenth day of the first month of the 18th year of Qiansheng. At this time, Chen Wang Zhu Hedi, Ji Wang Zhu He, the chief envoy Xiong Cilu, and the general Qi Mu led more than [-] civil servants and generals. , More than [-] soldiers and horses landed in the Suez area.

On the [-]th day of the first lunar month, King Chen Zhu Hedi led [-] civil servants of the palace to settle in Cairo, renamed it Chen Yi, and made it the capital of the state of Chen.

On the 22nd of the first lunar month, Xiong Cilu built the "Middle East Prefecture" in the Suez area, temporarily setting up the Middle East County.

On the 25th of the first lunar month, the negotiations between the naval commander Shi Lang and the Ottoman envoy Mazar broke up because the Ottomans wanted to take back Syria and Palestine.

However, the reality is often cruel. A country without force is often not qualified to bargain at the negotiating table.

On the 26th of the first lunar month, the Ming army launched a full-scale attack. It took only ten days to advance the front line to the north by [-] miles.

After hearing the news of the complete defeat on the front line, Muhammad IV finally recognized the reality.

On the first day of February, Mazar and Shi Lang signed the "Baghdad Peace Treaty" in Baghdad. The Ottoman Empire recognized the area occupied by the Ming army as the Ming territory, and the two sides ceased fighting.

On the fifth day of February, Yongwang Zhu Cixuan moved the capital to Baghdad and renamed Baghdad Yongyi, and the former Yongyi was renamed Nanyi.

This battle was called the Fifth Western Expedition of the Ming Dynasty by later generations. Its significance was that Yongguo obtained a large area of ​​arable land, thereby becoming economically independent and reducing the burden on the royal family.

In addition, the establishment of Chen State, Ji State, and the Middle East Supervisory Commission also gave Daming a certain influence on the North Kunlun area, and the canal dug by the Middle East Supervisory Commissioner was also hailed as one of the top ten wonders of the world by later generations .

When the news came back to Beijing, it was already March [-]th. At this time, Ji Wang Zhu He also brought [-] royal officials to Damascus and renamed Damascus Jiyang.

It seemed that he felt that his mission had been completed. From this day onwards, Emperor Zhu Ciran began to get sick, and his body became thinner and thinner day by day.

But even so, Zhu Ciran held his breath and took his prince Zhu Heyin, grandson Zhu Yixuan and others to Tianshou Mountain to pay homage to the past emperors.

During this period, Zhu Ciran stayed for a whole afternoon in Shiling and King Qi's Tomb where his father and uncle were buried, and took people back to the capital before dusk.

After returning to the capital, Zhu Ciran's physical condition began to deteriorate. Even the doctors from the Imperial Hospital came to the court one after another, but they only extended his life for a few months.

At Xu time on October [-], Zhu Ciran summoned Zhu Heyin and Zhu Yixuan.

At this time, he was exhausted, his voice was weak when speaking, and his body was as thin as a stick.

Looking at Zhu Heyin and Zhu Yixuan who were kneeling on the ground, Zhu Ciran looked at the window in the Hall of Mental Cultivation and remained silent for a long time.

Not long after, footsteps came from outside the hall, and the gray-haired chief minister Yan Yinshao, second assistant Sun Kewang, and cabinet minister Li Dingguo entered the hall.

Seeing the three people coming, Zhu Ciran pointed at Zhu Heyin and said weakly:

"When I was young, I traveled around the world, and I never heard that there are immortals in all things in the world."

"Death is the principle of heaven and earth, and the nature of things. I have been on the throne for ten or nine years. With the protection of the previous emperors of the Lai Dynasty, today the world is peaceful, and there will be no military revolution in the four seas."

"Today's year has come, is there any mourning? When the order arrives, people will not be forbidden to take wives, marry girls, worship at temples, drink alcohol, and eat meat."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Ciran looked at Zhu Heyin and his son again, and then looked at Yan Yinshao and the others with difficulty:
"The crown prince is kind-hearted and filial to his friends. He is loved by the late emperor and uncle Wang. He will be the emperor in a few days. I hope the three of you will assist you faithfully."

"Long live..." Hearing Zhu Ciran's words, the three of Yan Yinshao felt heavy, and Li Dingguo, who had the best relationship with Zhu Ciran, couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing his appearance, Zhu Ciran raised his hand with difficulty, Li Dingguo hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down, and held his bony hand.

"Brother, don't cry..." Zhu Ciran struggled to force a smile, and then seemed to feel a little uncomfortable, and couldn't help but close his eyes tightly and frown.

After going on like this for a while, he suddenly felt relieved, and a smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

"Long live!" Seeing Zhu Ciran's appearance, Yan Yinshao and everyone in the hall knelt down and cried, but Zhu Ciran slowly opened his eyes.

He looked at the window in the hall, and everyone followed him, but they didn't see anything.

Just when they were puzzled, Zhu Ciran tightened Li Dingguo's hand, and said with a relieved smile, "I saw my father and uncle..."

(End of this chapter)