North border, Pinrenna Bay.

It is located in the northeastern inland sea of ​​the Asian continent.

In the second year after the 50,000 expeditionary forces set out, that is, in the 30th year of Hongwu.

Zhu Ying ordered the Ming Dynasty to establish a separate station here.

Its main function is to save the expeditionary force a lot of trouble when they return.

The ships that came here were all from the East China Sea Navy.

When the expeditionary force was sent there, it stopped at this location and then the expeditionary force started walking.

According to Zhu Ying's request, the East China Sea Navy dispatched ships to be stationed here in rotation, with a rotation every two months, to ensure that this stronghold had sufficient food and a total of about a hundred people.

"I don't know why the court set up a post station here. We brothers are really unlucky to encounter winter."

"I'm almost numb from the cold, but I still have to patrol here."

"It's like being exiled in a place like this. Fortunately, I can go back in a month and catch the New Year."

Two soldiers were patrolling in the snow.

The person who was speaking was Yan Chun, and next to him was his brother Yan Liang.

"We are lucky enough to be able to celebrate the New Year when we return. The next batch that comes will be in trouble and will have to spend the New Year here."

"Well, actually I don't really want to go back for the New Year. I can get an extra half month's salary. It's so good to have this money. Every time I go back, I have to deal with this and that. It's more comfortable to be on the ship."

Yan Liang replied casually.

The two walked and talked all the way until they reached a hillside.

Here on the hillside, there is a Ming Dynasty flag.

What the two of them have to do is to put away the old flag and hang up the new flag.

Perhaps because of the strong snow and wind last night, the flagpole was blown down. The two men took a lot of effort to fix it and raise the flag.

"Hey, is my vision blurry? Why do I see someone coming from a distance?"

Yan Chun looked into the distance and rubbed his eyes subconsciously.

"There are real people, more than ten of them. Hurry up, keep the muskets ready. Damn it, the snow is too strong, the muskets may not light."

"Take out your bows and arrows. These may be barbarians living nearby. There are only two of us. I'm afraid we can't handle them."

Yan Liang looked carefully and saw that the dozen or so people opposite him were all covered in various animal skins and had messy hair. It was obvious that they were not easy to deal with.

And just when the two of them were on guard.

More than a dozen people in the distance were ecstatic when they saw the rising Ming flag.

And these people were the expeditionary force from five years ago.

The leader among them was Wang Tianlu, an outstanding student of the Ming Military Academy at that time.

"Look, that's the flag of our Ming Dynasty. We're here, finally here, hahahaha!!!"

"Five years, five whole years. I never thought I could really come back."

"Let's go, let's go quickly, once we get to the camp, we can have food."

"Hold on, guys. We're almost there."

The sixteen people led by Wang Tianlu felt full of strength at this time and walked quickly towards where the flag was.

"Stop, who are you? Tell me your name immediately."

"This is the base of our Ming Dynasty. If you dare to trespass, don't blame us for exterminating your clan."

Yan Chun looked at the dozen or so people nearby and shouted at the top of his voice.

Yan Liang couldn't help but say: "Brother, I'm afraid these people can't understand what we are saying."

Yan Chun said helplessly: "No matter if he can understand or not, we have to shout a few words."

When Wang Tianlu heard the shouting, he didn't feel angry at all. Instead, he felt very cordial.

"Two brothers in front, we are the expeditionary force and have now returned. This is my centurion token."

Wang Tianlu took out his ID from his arms and held it high in his hand.

Although Yan Chun and Yan Liang could not see clearly, they knew it was someone from the Ming Dynasty when they heard the voice, and they immediately felt relieved.

Hundred households?

When they got closer, Wang Tianlu threw the token to the two of them.

Yan Liang hurriedly picked it up and looked at it carefully.

"Brother, it really is the Hundred Household Order."

Upon hearing this, Yan Chun hurriedly checked and confirmed that it was correct.

They were just low-level soldiers, but the centurions were real military officers.

"I am a soldier under the command of the East China Sea Navy, Yan Chun, and my brother Yan Liang, paying homage to the Captain."

The two of them bowed hurriedly.

At the same time, they were somewhat shocked. They naturally knew something about the expeditionary force five years ago, otherwise they would not have to stay here every year.

But after so many years, I have never heard of anyone returning.

Unexpectedly, the brothers actually encountered it.

"Okay, okay. The military camp is not far from here. We have come here through many mountains and rivers, and we haven't had a full meal for many days."

"Please lead the way, my two little brothers."

Wang Tianlu's words prompted the two brothers Yan Chun and Yan Liang to quickly lead the way.

Under the leadership of the two, they soon arrived at the military camp.

Wang Tianlu's status as a captain obviously puts him on par with the highest-ranking military officers here.

A large amount of meals was immediately arranged in the military camp.

According to regulations, if the expeditionary force was found to have returned, they must be sent back to the capital immediately.

That night, a ship set out from here overnight.

…

The Ming Palace.

Zhu Ying got up and put on her clothes with the help of the palace maid.

Sleeping on the bed was the Japanese princess Xiangzi.

Although the Wa Kingdom had perished, Zhu Ying did not get rid of the Wa royal family but retained it.

However, they lost all their power and no longer enjoyed any privileges, and were only royals in name only.

The only thing they gained was some salary grants from the Ming Dynasty to the Japanese royal family.

The amount of salary depended on the level of local taxation, rather than being borne by the Ming treasury.

After all, the Japanese royal family is still, to a large extent, the spiritual symbol of the Japanese people today.

Governing the four major provinces of the former Japan is not a quick process and can only be done slowly.

"Your Highness."

Xiangzi, who was woken up, got up quickly from the bed. She wanted to help Zhu Ying change clothes herself, but it was obviously a little late.

"It's okay, you can rest first."

Zhu Ying nodded slightly, indicating that Xiangzi didn't need to do this, and then left the room.

Zhu Ying had no other opinions about Xiangzi and treated her equally with other concubines.

Because of the destruction of Japan, Xiangzi has always worried that she would be disliked by the crown prince, so she has worked harder in many aspects.

Last night, even though she was a little overwhelmed, Xiangzi still tried her best to satisfy the crown prince.

Zhu Ying was quite pleased about this.

"Your Highness, the Minister of War is already waiting in the main hall." Guo Zhong whispered beside him.

Zhu Ying nodded: "He came so early, I'm afraid he hasn't had breakfast yet, you can ask the Guanglu Temple to prepare two breakfasts, and let him eat with me."

Guo Zhong quickly said, "Yes, Your Highness."

There is no court meeting today. Please ask the Minister of War Ru Hong to come over. Zhu Ying intends to discuss with him the preparations to deal with Tianzhu.

The monsoon on the ocean is about to come, and the Ming Dynasty's treasure ships can also set sail with the help of the monsoon.

In addition to the transportation of troops, it also involves a large amount of cavalry dispatch, including some logistical preparations.

Treasure ships played a big role in this regard.

Moreover, the treasure ship docked on the seashore is equivalent to a mobile fortress, leaving a retreat route for Lan Yu's army at any time.

Avoid the situation of fighting alone.

Since the grassland was pacified, Zhu Ying began to prepare to mobilize the cavalry on the grassland.

After all, there is not much point in leaving so many cavalrymen on the grassland, and because of corn feed, war horses do not necessarily have to be raised only on grassland pastures.

Therefore, in the latest arrangement, the stallions on the grassland will gradually migrate into the interior of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition to war horses, there are also pack horses.

Although trains were being built everywhere in the Ming Dynasty, horses played a very important role both as cavalry and as transportation.

Therefore, Zhu Ying also asked the public, local governments, and even maritime merchants to look for stallions from all over the country in order to enrich the number and types of horses in the Ming Dynasty.

Opening a horse farm has become a new type of business in the Ming Dynasty today.

Under the guidance of the government, many businessmen also began to join this industry.

Some land that is not suitable for farming has been developed into horse farms for breeding horses.

It can be seen that in the days to come, the number of Ming horses will show an explosive growth.

As the number increases, the price of horses will also fall.

Before the advent of modern industries such as tanks and cars, horses occupied a dominant position for hundreds of years to come.

Even though the Ming Dynasty now has 300,000 cavalry, Zhu Ying obviously wants to build more cavalry teams, which will be more conducive to the conquest of other places.

As for Lan Yu's army, Zhu Ying was preparing to dispatch another 50,000 cavalry.

Zhu Ying wanted to discuss some details with the Minister of War Ru Hong.

As for the imperial court's preparation to attack India, the Minister of War Ru Heng was more concerned than Zhu Ying.

The Ministry of War is mainly responsible for logistics during war, but if logistics issues lead to increased casualties among soldiers, the Ministry of War will bear the main responsibility.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

When it comes to these detailed coordination arrangements, Zhu Ying's ability is no better than Ru Hong, who has been handling these matters for years.

Of course, because it is a matter of great importance, Zhu Ying still has to listen to Ru Rong's arrangements in many aspects.

Being a hands-off manager doesn't mean not taking care of anything.

"Thank you, His Royal Highness, for the banquet."

Ru Heng didn't expect that the Crown Prince would ask him to have breakfast with him and make a report while eating and chatting.

This made him a little flattered.

In fact, Ru Hong had already eaten two sesame cakes on the road before she set out, but faced with the reward from the Crown Prince, she had no choice but to eat it even if she was full.

The so-called thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all the grace of the emperor.

As a subject, there is no reason to refuse.

After listening to the detailed report made by Ru Hong, including the memorial submitted, Zhu Ying was quite satisfied.

Basically, there is no problem.

The main purpose of meeting Ru Rong was to express his importance to this matter.

We finished breakfast and basically finished discussing the matter.

Zhu Ying looked at Ru Heng, who seemed to be hesitant to speak, and could not help but ask, "Minister Ru, if you have anything to say, you can just say it directly. There is no need to be shy."

Ru Hong hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Your Highness, it is related to some matters concerning the guard posts in various places."

"I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Zhu Ying was speechless. It has come to this and you are still asking whether I should say it or not. Am I going to say something that I shouldn't say?

"Just tell me."

Ru Yan clasped his hands and bowed: "Reporting to Your Highness, this is about the affairs of the guards in various places."

"I have recently discovered that the number of troops is increasing due to the court's continuous recruitment, and some people, in order to pursue their own personal interests, have used their personal connections to interfere with the transfer of new soldiers."

"At first, I thought this was not a big deal, so I didn't take it too seriously. However, by chance, I discovered that this kind of thing had already happened in the Beijing camp."

"Some noble families were involved in this, secretly manipulating the soldiers' enlistment. Those who paid enough money were sent to better military camps, while those who didn't pay could only go to worse military camps."

"This kind of unfairness has already occurred widely during the recruitment of new soldiers, and even in many places, prices have been clearly marked."

"The recruitment, training, and dispatch of new soldiers are currently mainly handled by the military academies in various places. The Ministry of War has no right to interfere, and there is no one to supervise it."

"I believe that if this continues, it will inevitably breed bad habits and easily lead to resentment among the new recruits."

Zhu Ying did not choose to believe Ru Heng's one-sided statement directly, but asked: "Does Minister Ru have any evidence?"

Ru Heng smiled bitterly and said, "I do have some evidence, but it only covers some areas of the capital."

"I have heard that this phenomenon is particularly serious outside the capital."

After a slight hesitation, Ru Huang continued, "I heard that some of the activities here even involved the participation of the Jinyiwei."

Having said that, Ru Hong has already taken a big risk.

The Jinyiwei was an agency directly under the emperor, and ordinary ministers dared not offend them.

Zhu Ying didn't expect that this matter would involve the Jinyiwei.

If the Jinyiwei were really involved, it would be no small matter.

In order to better control the intelligence in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ying has been expanding the Jinyiwei.

Under Zhu Yuanzhang, the main activity area of ​​the Jinyiwei was restricted to the capital.

Although there are Jinyiwei organizations in other places, the number of people is very small.

After Zhu Ying entered the palace, he gradually integrated the intelligence personnel of the previous Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce with the Jinyiwei, and invested a lot of precious money to start building a nationwide Jinyiwei intelligence agency.

This is also to better control local trends.

The power of the local Jinyiwei, to a large extent, exceeded that of the local sheriff, although they were mainly spies for other countries and later supervised local officials.

Although the team is large, there will always be some parasites.

But what Zhu Ying didn't expect was that it had actually affected the army.

The army is Zhu Ying's bottom line. Anyone who dares to cross the line will not be forgiven easily.

However, since this matter came from Ru Hong's mouth, Zhu Ying also had to consider whether the Ministry of War wanted to fight for some power distribution regarding the new recruits.

However, for now, the key is to conduct a thorough investigation and verification of the situation of the Jinyiwei in various places.