The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Beijing, Forbidden City.

Yan Chengjin came to the duty room of the Ministry of Works wearing a low-key Qilin-given robe.

Several of the Ministry of Works' chief clerks still recognized him. Three years ago, he was observing politics in the Ministry of Works. Now he has been promoted to the Chief Censor. They were so envious that they almost fainted.

Yan Chengjin came to Song Jing specifically and took out a sketch from his arms.

"What is this, Lord Yan?"

"A new firearm. See if you can make it according to my sketch?"

Song Jing bowed slightly and took the drawing. There were two pictures drawn on the plain white paper.

It looked like a wooden box with a pile of mud inside, which looked more like a firearm made before.

But this firearm was very different.

Xie Pi also came up and took a look: "Is this wooden box a firearm?"

Yan Chengjin nodded.

This firearm was a firearm that would only be made during the Jiajing period, about forty years away.

No one knows its power yet.

With Song Jing's skills, I wonder if it can be made?

Xie Pi showed hesitation and bowed to Yan Chengjin: "Can students also participate in it?"

This firearm is extremely dangerous.

Once the gunpowder ratio is not controlled well, the metal marbles will fly in all directions, with enough power to kill an elephant.

Song Jing dedicated himself to the progress of Ming Dynasty's firearms, and he dedicated himself, after all, he was the head of the Ministry of Works.

Yan Chengjin shook his head and said solemnly: "Song Jing must come. You are unfamiliar with preparing gunpowder, so you should go to repair the canal."

Now, if he adds another fifty taels of salary, he can be promoted to the chief engineer of Liangxiang.

Xie Pi said: "The development of firearms is for the court, and it is only natural for students to be officials in the Ministry of Works."

Yan Chengjin ignored it.

Song Jing was fooled by him and started to develop gunpowder.

Xie Pi was born obsessed with science, just like there are always a few people who are curious about science in every era.

If he was paralyzed by the explosion, Xie Qian would die in depression.

Fengtian Hall,

Emperor Hongzhi could not bear to read the memorial, and his mind was full of Iwami Silver Mine.

The silver mine was digging silver every day. Counting the days, the island country had already dug 300,000 taels.

300,000 taels was enough to cover the summer tax of Baoding Prefecture for half a year.

"Wang Shouren has been gone for three months, and no memorial has been sent back to the capital. I want to send the military supervisor to the south."

In the hall, Li Dongyang and the other two looked at each other.

The nine ministers stood aside, silent. After all, the war between Ryukyu and Satsuma had nothing to do with the court.

Your Majesty's idea was nothing more than sending a spy to Wang Shouren to send urgent reports back to the capital at any time.

But the capital and Ryukyu are thousands of miles apart. Even if it is 800 miles away, it will take a month to get back.

Yan Chengjin stood up and said, "I think we can send Gao Feng. He is familiar with the King of Ryukyu and is also quite familiar with the East China Sea."

Xiao Jing's face twitched slightly, but as a eunuch, he could not interrupt the court discussion.

As one of the Nine Ministers, it was normal for Yan Chengjin to recommend to His Majesty.

"Then send Gao Feng south. The Ministry of War will recruit 20,000 soldiers and horses, and the Ministry of Revenue will allocate silver to train the army for the Eastern Expedition first."

Emperor Hongzhi looked serious and was determined to go on the Eastern Expedition.

Now on this continent, except for the Tatars, no vassal state can become a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

He naturally gained confidence.

Yan Chengjin lowered his head and thought, His Majesty recruited 20,000 soldiers and horses, and he might have to build ships, otherwise he could not cross the East China Sea.

Calculated in this way, it would be a huge waste.

Not to mention the military pay required for the Eastern Expedition.

Han Wenshou held the banner: "Your Majesty, can you recruit 10,000 people first?"

After all, there is still no silver. If the Tatars in the north suddenly attack at this time, they will be caught in a war with the two countries.

The Ministry of Revenue must keep enough military pay for the north.

And if the silver mines have been dug up when Iwami is captured, the war will be a loss.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang looked at each other.

Before they could speak, Emperor Hongzhi said firmly: "It will come from my treasury."

…

Upper Tseng Island, Ishigawa Village.

An army wearing black fine iron breastplates, holding silver-shining weapons, is ready to go in the cold sea breeze!

Okubo is a burly man, riding on a red horse, holding a nearly two-meter-long Japanese sword.

"General, Wang Shouren's army has entered Shangzeng Island."

"Have you set an ambush?"

"Ten artillery pieces are ambushed, and there are 500 archers in Pengshan."

Shangzeng Island is mostly mountainous, and the soil is mostly exposed rocks because it is washed into the sea by sea breeze or rainstorm.

Therefore, few people live there, and there are almost no official roads from south to north.

Marching requires crossing mountains and forests, and defenders can take advantage of the terrain to gain the upper hand.

Okubo fought for the Desert Kingdom more than 150 times, leading his army to guard the territory bordering the Higo Kingdom in the north, and rarely suffered defeat.

Such achievements are due to his study of the Ming Dynasty's military tactics.

He has been familiar with military books since he was a child and is very familiar with the Ming Dynasty's military tactics.

Sun Tzu said that war is a trick!

Shangzeng Island has many natural checkpoints. By using the terrain to ambush, at least 40% of the Ryukyu people can be killed.

That man named Wang Shouren may not even be able to get through the pass.

"Add another 130 crossbows!"

The three-crossbow is a crossbow with three layers of bamboo strips stacked under a wooden strip as two wings. It is extremely powerful.

It is extremely fast and can penetrate twice as deep as the strongest bow and arrow.

This kind of crossbow was originally used to guard the camp and is not suitable for marching.

But now it can be used to guard the pass and exert its greatest destructive power.

At this time, on Pengshan Mountain, twenty cannons were aimed at the road below.

There were also five hundred archers ambushed in the mountains and forests.

The powerful three-bracket crossbow, five-bracket crossbow, and seven-bracket crossbow were moved to the high ground to occupy the most advantageous shooting position.

With so many troops, forming a huge killing formation, even the fastest forest bird would not be able to escape.

Wang Shouren rode a white horse and took out a monocular telescope.

In the distance was a towering stone mountain with cliffs on both sides, which was extremely difficult to climb.

Such terrain is suitable for setting up an ambush. If it is blocked, it will be difficult to withdraw.

"Stop and set up camp to rest."

Dong Wen looked at the stone mountain in the distance, and he could guess that the Satsuma people might set up an ambush here.

This was his first time here, and he didn't know the terrain of Zengdao Island.

Such a natural barrier is like a single man blocking the pass, and ten thousand men can't open it. How to get through?

Even if you force your way through, there will be heavy casualties, right?

Not long after, the spy came back and reported: "Sir, there are artillery and archers on the mountain, as well as three-bracket crossbows."

Dong Wen's face suddenly changed drastically.

It is very easy to defend the pass in such a terrain, and the enemy has such powerful weapons.

Wang Shouren fell into deep thought.

"This Pengshan Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles, separating the north and the south. If we want to take a detour, it will take dozens of days." Dong Wen said from a distance.

Two days later, the military camp was still stationed in the same place, without moving.

Not to advance rashly, Okubo had a higher opinion of Wang Shouren.

Wang Shouren pondered over the pass in the distance for two days.

At night, Wang Shouren put on his regular clothes and walked outside the tent. He picked up a handful of soil, let go and scattered it, and the dust was blown up by the wind.

"Beat the drums, prepare to rush through the pass."

The guards passed the order down, and the drums in the camp sounded loudly.

Dong Wen got up in a daze. When he heard that he was going to march at night, he was so scared that he could not speak clearly: "There are firearms and crossbows at the pass, don't you know?"

"Look at the wind, tonight is a good time to attack the city."