Chapter 303 The Whole Country Sharpens Its Sword and Shows Its Power
Nothing can be created out of nothing, let alone accomplished overnight.
Under the planning of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Industry designed the most advanced gunboat last year, and this year the Tianjin Shipyard lived up to expectations and built a warship that could dominate the ocean - the Dongzheng.
So far, the Ming Dynasty not only has the most advanced shipbuilding technology in the East, but also successfully built a three-masted sea ship with heavy guns.
This three-masted gunboat is an epoch-making work. Unlike the traditional Chinese load-bearing sea ships, this sea ship is simply born for war. The hull alone has dozens of heavy guns, and the bow is indestructible.
Since the design of the Dongzheng, the goal of the Ming Dynasty has been very clear: to build the Dongzheng to help the Ming Dynasty become the real overlord of the ocean and conquer all forces with giant ships and heavy guns.
In this strategy of conquering the Jianzhou Jurchens, the Dongzheng, which was secretly produced by the Ming Dynasty court, went to sea and served, and it also became the most important killer of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason why the Eastern Expedition Army led by Wang Yue made slow progress was that, on the one hand, it was necessary to consolidate the rear to give the Ministry of Works enough time to build the city, and on the other hand, it was actually to coordinate the voyage of the Eastern Expedition.
The Eastern Expedition was delivered in July, departed from Tianjin Port, arrived at Canzhi Island and was handed over to Xu Shiying for command, and then sailed from the east of the Korean Peninsula, and finally entered the Lubin River at the estuary during the flood season.
Just as Wang Yue's army attacked the Jianzhou Jurchen base camp, the Eastern Expedition also made a brilliant appearance.
Since the concept of naval warfare did not exist in this era, the Jianzhou Jurchens did not expect that the Ming army would suddenly appear on the river, let alone have such a terrifying lethal weapon.
Boom!
Sparks spewed out from the dark muzzles, and lead bullets weighing more than ten pounds flew into the air, and then hit the base camp of the Jianzhou Jurchens heavily.
Bang!
The killing range of this lead bullet is relatively small, but its power is amazing in this era. Even the deep pits it made when it fell on the open ground can make people deeply afraid.
No matter how brave these Jurchen warriors are, metaphysics is the end of everything. It is human nature to be afraid of the unknown.
"How... how is this possible?"
"This kind of shell is too scary?"
"Where is the shell? Is it the gods who want to punish us?"
...
The Jianzhou Jurchens saw the sudden bombardment and looked at the direction of the shells in disbelief, and looked at the warship on the river in awe that did not belong to this era.
The Dongzheng condensed the crystallization of Chinese wisdom. Both its size and shape were extremely visually impactful. At this time, it was like a monster baring its fangs towards the base camp of the Jianzhou Jurchens.
Whether it was gods or demons, the endless shells seemed to be bullying these Jurchens who only knew how to wield swords and guns.
The end of August was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The river wind blew from north to south, and the dragon flag on the bow fluttered.
Standing on the deck at this moment is a young man wearing a Douyu suit. Although he looks very ordinary, his face is mature and steady, which is inconsistent with his age. He is holding a new single-hole telescope to observe the battle situation.
Chen Shan and Huo Guangming stood on both sides with knives, looking at the chaotic Jianzhou Jurchen base camp with piercing eyes, and their backs were very straight.
"Fire again!"
Donghai Governor Xu Shiying personally led his troops to come here this time. He saw the effect of his artillery bombardment through the telescope and gave orders expressionlessly.
Although he was afraid of death in his heart, he had become much braver after more than a year of tempering. This time he took the initiative to come.
If he wanted to fight the enemy himself, he would definitely not be able to do it, but now that the Ming Dynasty has such a big capital, there is naturally no reason to retreat.
Now, he looked at the Jurchens who were howling like ghosts and wolves, as if he was possessed by the blood of his ancestors.
All he needed was an order, and all the enemies in front of him would no longer exist. Even the extremely barbaric Jurchens were just a bunch of chickens and dogs in front of their heavy artillery.
Boom!
As the fuses sizzled into the barrels, dozens of heavy artillery pieces, under the action of gunpowder, once again made a thunderous sound.
One after another, black shells soared into the sky, first drawing beautiful parabolas, and then heading towards the chaotic Jurchen base camp.
So many shells flying over were simply doomsday for the Jurchens in it.
Bang!
A black shell just landed in the white tent, and a scream came from inside, but it was unknown how many Jurchens were killed.
Bang!
A flock of sheep was leisurely eating grass, but was suddenly attacked by a black shell, and the sheep were immediately splashed with blood, and the sheep made a harsh bleating sound.
Bang!
A black shell hit the campfire in the camp, and the sparks fell on the big tent and haystack next to it, causing a raging fire.
...
Waves of shells flew from the river, and the Jurchens' base camp happened to be stationed on the river bank, so it was completely within the range of the shells.
The shells were directly or indirectly harvesting the lives of the Jurchens. In addition to the unlucky people who were directly killed by the shells, many Jurchens were trampled to death by their own horses in the chaos.
It is worth mentioning that the Jianzhou Jurchens were not pure nomads like the Mongols. They either farmed, fished or herded, resulting in an insufficient number of horses.
Faced with this sudden bombardment, many Jurchens lost their horses, causing them to stab their compatriots mercilessly in order to survive.
It was under Xu Shiying's successive bombardments that the Jurchen base camp in Jianzhou ushered in the most chaotic moment, with fires, trampling and robbery in the camp.
"God, it must be God punishing us!"
Faced with this terrifying artillery attack, this group of Jurchens who had not really completed civilization, let alone resistance, knelt on the ground and bowed to the two Dongzheng ships in the river.
At this moment, they had been completely conquered by heavy artillery, but they were willing to surrender to the feet of the Ming Dynasty.
As for the Aisin Gioro clan, in this era where the strong are respected, after losing the favor of the Ming Dynasty, the Aisin Gioro clan had actually long since become a relatively strong tribe.
Now, let alone the leaders of each tribe, even the people of the tribe led by Aisin Gioro, many people have sincerely surrendered to the feet of the Ming Dynasty.
Strong, this is the root of everything.
As for the Aisin Gioro clan, go to hell!
Bang!
The most critical black shell landed at the door of the general account, causing billowing smoke and dust to appear there immediately. The unlucky person who was bombarded was Tuo Luo.
"It's over!"
The leaders present dodged one after another. Because they were far away from Tuo Luo, they felt lucky to have saved their lives, and they couldn't help but look at Tuo Luo with pity.
At this point, the defeat of the Jianzhou Jurchens was certain, and Tuo Luo's death might be the best result.
Puff!
Tuo Luo originally wanted to avoid it, but he fell heavily to the ground uncontrollably, and spit out a mouthful of blood.
They, the Aixinjueluo clan, chose to submit to the Ming Dynasty. After receiving the land from the Ming Dynasty, they unexpectedly found that this place was very suitable for agricultural planting.
It's just that they, the Jurchens, did not have the talent for farming. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty did not pay much attention to them, they chose to plunder the people of the Ming Dynasty from the border areas.
Originally, everything was going well. Relying on the food security of agriculture and the geographical advantages, more and more tribes submitted to the Aixinjueluo clan.
Unfortunately, his father Dong Shan met the wise ruler Xianzong, and was almost exterminated. Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty court had a benevolent and moral minister who escaped.
At this point, the Aixinjueluo clan only needed to rely on the resources of the Ming Dynasty to develop, but things developed in a more uncontrollable direction.
If Xianzong still had some benevolence, the current Hongzhi Emperor was simply a tyrant, who wanted to destroy the Aixinjueluo clan and even the entire Jianzhou Jurchen tribe at a disagreement.
"Chief, the chief is still alive!" The two soldiers found Tuoluo in the rolling dust and shouted happily.
The tribal leaders present couldn't help but feel disappointed, but after seeing Tuoluo's situation clearly, a touch of pity flashed in their eyes.
Tuoluo was lucky or unfortunate. The hit rate of the shell was actually very low, but it happened to fall on his toes, but fortunately it was not hit directly.
Ah…
Tuo Luo stood up with the help of his personal guards, but when he saw that only a bloody part of his leg was left, he could not help but roar.
In this society where the strong prey on the weak, losing both legs is equivalent to becoming a disabled person.
“Kill!”
The Eastern Expedition Army was originally only a few dozen miles away from here, and now that Yang Mudawu, who was responsible for the defense line, had defected, it was natural for them to kill here.
The troops, equipment and morale were all superior, so this was actually a one-sided war.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wang Yue’s Eastern Expedition Army, with 5,000 fire commanders and archers as the vanguard, took advantage of the natural advantage of firepower and swept from the west with a devastating attitude.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The Jianzhou Jurchens had never thought that Yang Mudawu would defect, and now the camp was in chaos due to the bombardment of the Ming Dynasty, so they did not organize a decent resistance at all.
"Run, run!"
Facing the unrivaled Eastern Expedition Army, the Jurchens only had one last thought in their heads.
Kill!
Lin Yuanyang acted as the vanguard of the Eastern Expedition Army, relying on his natural power to wield a broadsword and kill people without mercy.
Puff!
A Jurchen cavalryman, ignorant of the height of heaven and earth, rushed towards Lin Yuanyang, but just after a face-to-face, he was beheaded by Lin Yuanyang's unreasonable long sword.
Who would have thought that the former boatman passed the imperial court's military examination and is now an excellent forward.
"Stop the bombardment!"
The Governor of Donghai, Xu Shiying, had been observing the battle situation through a single-hole telescope. When he saw that the Ming Eastern Expedition Army had entered the base camp of the Jianzhou Jurchens from the west, he immediately stopped the bombardment.
Although their bombardment was terrifying, its cost was not low, and it was best suited to play auxiliary.
From the current situation, their tactics this time were very smooth. Their Eastern Expedition disrupted the Jianzhou Jurchens' base camp, and the Eastern Expedition Army could easily seize this place while the camp was in chaos.
"Don't kill me, I surrender!"
"This has nothing to do with me, I am a citizen of the Ming Dynasty!"
"Yes, we have already submitted to the Ming Dynasty and have no intention of rebelling!"
...
The tribal leaders and Jurchens present saw that the situation was hopeless, and immediately chose to kneel down and surrender.
"Wait, I will be back!" Tuo Luo was carried on a horse by his personal guards and fled. Facing the land that had fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, he expressed his attitude with hatred.
Although his legs were disabled, this land was originally a gift from the Ming Dynasty, but in his heart it had already belonged to their Aisin-Gioro family, so he wanted to take it back.
Kill!
The Ming army arrived one after another, and they killed the Jurchens who were still resisting.
"Let Tuo Luo escape, you don't have to chase him!" Wang Yue, who was wearing armor, appeared here. When he learned that Tuo Luo led two thousand cavalry to flee eastward, he stopped Lin Yuanyang.
There are two types of military tactics, and now the Ming army and weapons are in an absolute advantage, so they naturally adopted a steady and cautious approach.
Now that the Jianzhou Jurchens' surprise troops have been completely wiped out by themselves, the Jurchens have been divided internally, and Yang Mudawu, who is in the most important defense line, has turned against them, so it is naturally time to blow the horn of attack.
Although it is a bit regrettable that Tuo Luo was not killed in one fell swoop this time, the biggest goal of the Ming Dynasty this time is not to eradicate the small Aisin Gioro family, but to recover this Jianzhou land.
Now that the most core Shubin River has been recovered, there is no need to rush to kill Tuo Luo. The more important thing is to completely control this land.
The most important thing is that there is a large amount of land that has been reclaimed here. Not to mention that the disaster victims can be directly resettled, as long as people are arranged to farm, a tax can be obtained.
His idea coincides with Zhu Youtang's. Fighting a war cannot just be heroic, but also requires economic considerations.
"Wang Zongxian, since my mission has been completed, I will trouble your army to control this place, and I will lead my troops back first!" Xu Shiying found Wang Yue after the war and said with a smile.
Wang Yue looked at the prince with a new look, but he saw through everything and said, "Does His Majesty have other arrangements for you?"
"I'm sorry that I can't tell you about this! Now seeing Wang Zongxian's demeanor, I hope we can work together to annihilate the enemy in the future!" Xu Shiying shook his head gently, and then said with longing.
Wang Yue's eyes flashed with wisdom, but he shook his head gently: "I'm afraid there will be no chance in the future! My health is not good, and I have told Your Majesty many times that Your Majesty may have to choose other capable people for future wars!"
He was originally a lone minister, and had long been regarded as a thorn in the eyes of the civil service group. The reason why nothing happened until now was thanks to the favor of Your Majesty.
But now he is the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, who holds great power. If he continues to interfere in military and political power, it is hard to guarantee that he will not arouse Your Majesty's suspicion.
That's why he decided to choose to be a Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate who beheaded corrupt officials, but completely faded out of the military and political field.
Xu Shiying looked at Wang Yue's body and it seemed very strong, but Wang Yue had expressed such an attitude, so he could only say politely: "If this is the case, it really makes this governor regretful. I hope that General Wang will take care of his health!"
Xu Shiying retired this time. Since he had completed his mission, he immediately returned to the sea along the Shubin River.
As the news spread that the Jianzhou Jurchens' lair was wiped out by the Eastern Expedition Army, it had a huge impact on the surrounding forces, especially Korea, which refused to send troops.