I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 471 Things take a turn for the worse in Venice
  Chapter 500

In fact, it was not the Spanish who were shocked, but also the French who came to the Golden State for the first time. Although France is still not that good in terms of navy, the problem is that since Spain sent troops to France in 1636, it has been with the Holy Roman Empire. Attacked from both north and south, and once reached Paris, the capital of France, but was ultimately defeated by the French army.

This victory laid the foundation of the French Army and declared the complete defeat of the Spanish phalanx. With the same number of people, the Spanish Army was no longer a match for the French Army.

Of course, it would take the Battle of Rocroix (May 1643-5, 18) to truly gain absolute advantage on the battlefield. However, France now has the capital to be proud of. After all, they defeated the Spanish Army, the number one army in Europe. Then their French Army should be number one in Europe.

"How big is this city?"

Elminster looked at the endless street and asked the translator very curiously.

The translator explained: "Jinzhou is currently the largest city in Ming Dynasty, with more than two million people living in this city. More importantly, this is a new city. Ten years ago, this city was abandoned. It is our great The city that His Majesty the Emperor built on the ruins!”

Hearing the figure of more than two million, Elminster did not speak for a long time. In the sixteenth century, France had become the most populous country in Europe, especially the largest city, Paris, with a population of [-].

He thought that even the largest city in Ming Dynasty could not compare with Paris. However, after arriving in Jinzhou, he suddenly realized that he was so ignorant that Jinzhou in Ming Dynasty was so big.

The translator explained: "Sir, you don't know that although Jinzhou has the largest population in the Ming Dynasty, it is not the largest city. In terms of the size of the city, the largest one should actually be Trin!"

"Telin?"

Elminster could have sworn that this was the first time he had heard that name.

Why is Telin said to be the largest city in Ming Dynasty? Because Trin's terrain is in an oval valley, about one-third of which is close to the sea, ports and ship repair shops were built along the coast. The northeast and southwest exits of the valley became the city gates. .

As a result, this valley basin, which is about [-] kilometers long from east to west and about [-] kilometers wide from north to south, became the Trin City of the Ming Dynasty. This basin became the largest artificial breeding ground in the Ming Dynasty. There are more than one million sheep and more than [-] horses.

The translator seemed to understand what Elminster was thinking, and smiled: "You want to say Paris, right? There are many cities like Paris in the Ming Dynasty. If Paris were placed in the Ming Dynasty, it would only be considered a relatively small city. , Beijing, Nanjing, Chang'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Dengzhou, Jimo (now Qingdao), Quxian (now Lianyungang), Funing (now Qinhuangdao), Shanghai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Danyuan during the Ming Dynasty , Luzon, there are so many cities bigger than Paris, I can’t even count them!”

Elminster pointed to the brightly lit buildings in the distance and said, "Is this the Ming Dynasty's church?"

"No, that is the most advanced school in the Ming Dynasty!"

The translator introduced: "This is the Royal Army Academy of the Ming Dynasty, also called the Imperial Army University. It is almost the same size as three Fandigang (homophone) cathedrals. Every year, more than [-] Ming Empire Army officers will graduate here and enter the army. !”

"More than three thousand?"

It is unimaginable for Elminster that many countries in Europe do not even have three thousand troops, let alone three thousand officers. Of course, the French Army has more than three thousand officers, but the problem is that the Ming Dynasty has three thousand officers every year. With more than a thousand officers graduating, you can imagine how huge the Ming army was.

The translator smiled lightly. As a native of Ming Dynasty, what he liked most was seeing these foreign devils who had never seen the world: "One hundred and sixty miles south of here is the Royal Naval Academy of Ming Dynasty. Two to three thousand naval officers graduate every year. !”

Elminster felt that he was a bit talkative. No wonder the Ming Dynasty was so powerful now. They could graduate more than [-] army officers and [-] to [-] naval officers every year. It is conceivable that their army should be at least hundreds of thousands of people.

In fact, the size of the Ming Dynasty's navy is no less than that of the army. Although the army has thirty-nine army brigades, each of the four major governor's offices has four to eight brigades. The Annan and Annabei legions both have four brigades with hundreds of thousands of troops. , but the Annan Army and the Anxi Army each have eight brigades under their jurisdiction. Two-thirds of the army units of the four armies, except for the North, station one brigade in Daguan and three brigades in Luzon.

Cheng Shijie stationed field mobile brigades in Jinzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Luoyang, and Chengdu respectively, and they were all mobile brigades that were equipped with mules and horses.

The navy is divided into four fleets: Da Yuan, Lushun, Luzon, and Yecheng, plus two combined fleets, Zhanzhou and Xinming. The four fleets also have dozens of strike squadrons and escort fleets.

The translator said to Elminster: "Sir, have you read the travel notes of Marco Polo?"

"Read it!"

Elminster said: "This lucky man who once visited the East in person called this ancient country the Golden Country in his travel notes, claiming that it was full of gold and there were piles of silver piled beside the streets. Europeans were fascinated by it and crazy about it...The great Columbus set sail to find this imaginary golden country. Unfortunately, he took the wrong path and ran to America. He never saw the real East until his death."

In the Concierge Court not far away, Davis, the Governor of the East India Company of Great Britain, excitedly said to his assistant Simon: "Dear Simon, can you believe it? Now I live in this spacious room and am living a continuous life." The pope would be jealous of life!”

Simon nodded repeatedly and said: "That's true. The exquisite porcelain we are using in front of us is the collection of the royal family in Europe. The royal family will carefully wrap it in silver and hide it in a heavily guarded underground palace. Every time I think about it, Before you take it out to appreciate it, you have to bathe in incense first, lest it tarnish this exquisite work of art..."

"However, I just put it on the desk, filled it with a little water, and then inserted two flowers."

Davis said excitedly: "I am wearing silk as soft as baby skin, not two pieces at a time, but five pieces! These silks are so perfect! If I can give this piece of silk to the princess, that The female cousin will definitely run naked with excitement!”

While these foreign devils were lamenting the prosperity of Jinzhou, Cheng Shijie and his son were sharpening their knives in the imperial study.

Every move, word and deed of these foreign devils in Jinzhou will be reported to Cheng Shijie by the Jinyiwei. Now the Jinyiwei is in charge of the collection and collation of external intelligence, especially the Beizhen envoy, who has basically assumed the work of national security.

Cheng Shijie pointed at the situation in front of him and reported: "What do you think?"

"I feel like I should imitate the great beauty!"

Cheng Jialong said: "We are now making a lot of money from trade, and we can cultivate interest spokesmen and support pro-China forces around the world!"

"We need to strengthen publicity!"

Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "The alley is too dark for the smell of wine, not to mention those foreign devils, they are not good people!"

"Dad, why don't we take advantage of them while they are still weak and strike first?" Cheng Jialong said: "Every time I see the cultural relics and antiques in the British Museum, I get very angry. Originally I had no choice but now we have the strength. , we can completely evacuate Britain!"

"Great Britain is still a country bumpkin now. Sending troops there will definitely be a loss-making business!"

To say that the army suffered a loss, the Ming Dynasty really suffered a loss.

That is to pack up the little book. The little book shogunate who is in seclusion has now become an ostrich. They bury their heads in the sand and migrate to the coastal areas. They can rob if they want and fight if they want. They don't resist and just lie down. .

Ishijian Yinshan is no longer mined. They know that even if it is mined, it cannot be defended. Millions of people in the country will starve to death every year, not to mention that the warriors cannot survive. Some Ming Dynasty people even went to Luzon to work as workers and earn a lot of money. Withdraw living expenses.

Cheng Jialong said: "Europe is going crazy now. They are besieging Venice together. I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on for long!"

Cheng Shijie said: "Can you guarantee that this is not a flesh and blood trick?"

Cheng Jialong shook his head and said, "I can't guarantee it!"

Cheng Shijie also lamented that the current environment of Ming Dynasty should also be controlled. In fact, Cheng Shijie had no good solution. However, logging of forests was prohibited in Ming Dynasty. Any act of logging trees must be reported to the Forestry Bureau. It is very difficult to get a felling license.

All wood consumption comes from imports, mainly from Indochina, Nanyang and Xiaobenzi. Burning coal is the best way Cheng Shijie can think of at present.

There are no more refugees in the Ming Dynasty now, and the war to grab people has begun. It is not just the lack of people in Jinzhou, but also the shortage of people everywhere. If the country has money, it can let go of the construction of a large number of basic industries, such as building roads and ditches. It is something that Ming officials like to do. It has political achievements and benefits.

Of course, it is best not to reach out, because once you reach out, you will be discovered. Unlike later generations, the Daming Station system also has a job, which is to receive reports.

The post station system is managed by the central government, and local officials have no power to interfere. Once people who petition or complain arrive within the scope of the post station, the post station is responsible for protecting their safety and providing food, clothing, housing and transportation. If the report is true, the official concerned will hang it on the tree. Within three generations, it was forbidden to be an official, engage in business or politics, or participate in the imperial examination.

For now, the Ming Dynasty's officialdom is pretty good.

The Ming Dynasty's army continued to expand. After the Jungar people were pressed to the ground and rubbed several times by the Anxi Army, they became honest and recognized the reality in front of them. No matter how brave they were, they could not defeat the Ming Dynasty army.

Especially with the overwhelming artillery of the Ming Anxi Army, they must either escape or surrender. There is no way out for resistance.

After completely crushing several counterattacks by the Jungar people, Changyu reorganized the Jungar people into [-] troops of [-] people who were not satisfied with the number, and served as the vanguard of the Anxi Army. They marched westward, and wherever they passed, they naturally It leaves no grass behind.

In the more distant Siberian region, the Annan Army made breakthrough progress in the Ural Mountains and pushed the front through the Ural Mountains. The Annan Army Shen Mingyu's troops also made smooth progress. They have now reached Yangon. As for the Chieftain Army in Annan , they became even more fierce and had already entered the territory of Ayutthaya (now Thailand).

Compared with other armies, the chieftain army's progress is slower, but they are progressing very thoroughly. They don't leave any men behind, only good-looking women, unattractive ones or older ones. All humane destruction.

Cheng Shijie coaxes a pair of twins to act as baby daddy.

While Cheng Shijie was coaxing his children, four scarred battleships, escorted by Ming Navy battleships, arrived in Jinzhou.

Catherine was learning how to take care of her skin from Xiang Hui. At this moment, a young man with scars on his face said anxiously: "Earl Catherine has finally found you!"

"You are……"

"It's me, Giovanni!"

Giovanni is no longer handsome at all. His face must have been burned by the fire. It was so badly burned that most Korean plastic surgeons in later generations would have a headache just looking at it. This was a big job.

"How did you do this?"

Giovanni fell unconscious before he could speak.

Fortunately, there is a doctor here. The doctor looked at me and said, "I'm tired, nothing serious!"

Catherine breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What's going on?"

"I am Siegfried, the captain of the battleship Marius. The count must have never heard of my name, but I already know the name of the countess."

Catherine was unmoved by this flattery and frowned: "The Marius is the main battleship of our navy. As the captain, you shoulder a heavy responsibility, but you have traveled thousands of miles to Asia...Venice is Something happened? Tell me quickly!"

At the end of the sentence, Catherine's voice trembled slightly.

Siegfried smiled bitterly: "Nothing can be hidden from the extremely intelligent Earl..."

Catherine said anxiously: "Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly, what happened in Venice?"

Siegfried took out a letter and said: "This is a letter written by the consul, and he asked me to deliver it to the countess in person. This is also a letter written by the consul, but it was entrusted to the count to be delivered to the Ming Emperor! Let's set off There were fourteen ships at that time. They fought with pirates, Southern European pirates, and ruthless winds and waves along the way. Finally, they arrived in Asia, and only these four shabby warships were left..."

Catherine punched Siegel in the chest. She did not punch hard, but found a large blood stain on Siegel's chest: "What's going on? What happened?"

Siegfried looked gloomy: "The Ottoman Navy once again launched a large-scale attack on us. Of course, this is nothing. Have we fought against the Ottomans too little? We have long been used to it. The most terrible thing is that Europe has betrayed us. We, while we were fighting a bloody battle with the Turks, the navies of France, Britain, and the Netherlands suddenly dispatched to attack us!"

(End of this chapter)