Chapter 167: Nanhua Foreign Legion (First update, please subscribe)
Who is the Lord of Nanhua?
"It is said that they are descendants of Zhu Ming!"
The mysterious words left Wang Youling speechless with astonishment.
"Zhu Ming...does anyone still have descendants?"
"Not only do we have descendants, but we have also created a great foundation on foreign lands!"
Pointing at Nanhua, Hu Xueyan said.
"The land of Nanhua is fertile and has spring-like weather all year round. The only thing it lacks is people. That's why they are trying every possible means to bring people over from the Qing Empire."
"Pull people from the Qing Dynasty?"
"Otherwise, why do you think we are here, Brother Wang? To be piglets? Brother Wang, how could those foreigners treat piglets like this?"
Hu Xueyan smiled mysteriously.
"I heard that Mr. Zhu used foreign guns and cannons to buy us."
"Ah! Is there such a thing?"
"Otherwise, my brother, why do you think the bandits suddenly became so merciful and stopped killing civilians indiscriminately?"
“No, no…”
Suddenly, Wang Youling's face changed drastically and he murmured.
"I see, that's how it is!"
In an instant, Wang Youling seemed to understand everything. No wonder the number of foreign guns and cannons of the bandits increased suddenly, and no wonder he could not defend Hangzhou. After all this time, the root of the problem was here.
Your Majesty, it is not that I am incompetent, it is really, the enemy is too cunning!
The bandits actually colluded with the descendants of Zhu Ming!
This news shocked Wang Youling so much that he felt dizzy, but what could he do?
After a moment, Wang Youling lost his voice.
"Then, where is the Lord of Nanhua? I, I want to meet him and ask him in person..."
Before he could finish, Hu Xueyan laughed.
"Brother Wang, what kind of person is he? Brother Wang wants to see him, and in what capacity do you want to see him?"
A casual question made Wang Youling speechless.
Just as he was stunned, he saw a group of men coming down from the same boat. The men's clothes seemed to be somewhat similar to those of the bandits, but also seemed a little different?
Who are they?
Seeing this, Hu Xueyan said.
"They are Japanese. It is said that they learned that the descendants of Zhu Ming were here, so they came from afar to serve."
"ah!"
Looking at the more than one hundred Japanese in astonishment, Wang Youling could not believe what he was seeing. There were actually Japanese people coming from afar to serve the country.
This, is this true?
Of course it’s fake.
These more than one hundred Japanese were hired by the American Trading Company from Nagasaki. In addition to the English translators, there were also dozens of down-and-out ronin. They were... mercenaries of the South China Foreign Legion.
It is certainly impossible to verify exactly when and by whom the Foreign Legion was invented.
There is no doubt that there have been foreign legions in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad. For example, the Romans once absorbed a large number of barbarians into the Roman Legion, and the Han and Tang dynasties also used foreigners as soldiers and generals.
Of course, whether it was Rome or the Han and Tang dynasties, when a large number of barbarian soldiers were recruited into the legions, the end of the empire slowly approached.
However, nothing is absolute. The most famous foreign team at present is the French team.
France is a strange country. It can only fight under the leadership of foreigners and women. After Napoleon, the foreigner who was the last glory of France, passed away, the combat effectiveness of the French army has been declining. However, the combat effectiveness of the foreign legion, which is mixed with criminals and adventurers, has always been considerable.
In addition to France, France's neighbor, Spain, also has a Foreign Legion. Before World War II, Franco relied on the Foreign Legion to "conquer" Spain and overthrow the Republican regime.
Regardless of the combat effectiveness of the foreign legion, what is its biggest benefit?
cheap!
Cheap cannon fodder!
Especially for Nanhua, which has limited military forces, since there are cheap cannon fodder available, it certainly cannot let it go.
To put it bluntly, the reason why Zhu Xianhai set up this foreign legion was because he was attracted by its cheap attributes.
Not only is it cheap, but there is also enough of it!
What is abundant in Japan?
Isn't it a samurai?
In fact, these people are not samurai, but ronin who are the second sons of samurai families without inheritance rights. Although they are ronin, they grew up in samurai families after all and have practiced some swordsmanship. In terms of combat effectiveness, or in other words, in terms of combat effectiveness with cold weapons, they are definitely stronger than ordinary farmers.
However, the most important thing is that it is not painful to use such consumables!
“Japanese are cheap!”
Once again, on the way to Beihe, Zhu Xianhai couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the "foreign troops" heading to Beihe with the guards.
"The monthly military pay is only four dollars, and if someone dies, the compensation is only twenty dollars. There is no better consumable material in the world than them!"
The military salary of four dollars is even lower than the lowest-paid farm worker in Nanhua. In many aspects, the treatment is even worse than that of the farm workers. Not only is the salary less, but there is also a risk to one's life.
Why is the salary so low? They are here to fight for their lives. Who told them they are not Chinese? It is natural that the salary is lower!
"My lord, although the Japanese soldiers are cheap, we still have to be on guard. Those who are not of our race must have different hearts!"
After giving the reminder, Fang Zhanbo said again.
"But there's nothing much going on right now. It's just a few hundred people."
"Oh, you don't understand this."
Zhu Xianhai smiled.
"These Japanese can be used. They don't know what a country is. For the samurai, their lives and everything belong to the lord!"
Looking at the foreign soldiers riding on horses and following the main army, Zhu Xianhai likes the Japanese of that time. They are simpler, or in other words, they have no country in their eyes, only masters and lords. Of course, this is also the result of the deliberate education of the Japanese daimyo and feudal lords for hundreds of years. Otherwise, wouldn't the trained samurai all belong to the shogunate? Therefore, the country belongs to the shogunate, and the samurai only need to be loyal to the feudal lord and lord. As for the country, the samurai of the shogunate are loyal.
And what about these ronin?
They had no master. As second sons, they had no inheritance rights and no samurai salary. To whom did they owe their loyalty? To their employers, of course.
"Don't worry, as long as we give them a certain channel for advancement, their loyalty will definitely exceed your imagination!"
Zhu Xianhai smiled.
Are Japanese mercenaries reliable?
The answer is obvious. Since these people have no country and no lord, they are just ronin. As long as they are given certain channels for advancement, they will definitely repay their loyalty, just like the Japanese mercenaries under Koxinga who fought to the death in Nanjing, Kinmen, and Penghu.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were also Japanese servants on the battlefield of Sarhu. Japanese mercenaries are a thing of the past in our Ming Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)
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