freeallnovels Chapter 14 Congratulations!
Chapter 14 Congratulations!
Both military buildings are at the initial level, and the port dock can only build one warship per turn/month.
Unlike in the game, the two-masted series and the level 6 ships can be built in just one month, but Zhu Jiheng still decided to build the two-masted warships with faster sailing speed first.
He now has a level 6 ship that can provide a lot of firepower, and when paired with a two-masted warship, it can play an even greater role.
Since the barracks can recruit two companies each turn, Zhu Jiheng did not hesitate at all and directly chose to recruit two companies of colonial soldiers.
While the discipline of colonial soldiers may not be as good as that of the militia, they are cheap and cost-effective, and are composed entirely of indigenous people.
For Zhu Jiheng, the fate of the indigenous people was obviously not as good as that of the Chinese. In his vision, the Chinese would be trained as the mainstay of the line infantry, while the large number of indigenous people would fight as auxiliary troops.
Imagine, when we launch a counterattack against the Qing Dynasty, a bunch of dark-skinned "monkeys" in the army, shouting "Long live the Ming Dynasty!" as they charge towards the Qing army's positions and engage in fierce hand-to-hand combat with them... That scene would be truly magnificent.
In just a few words, Zhu Jiheng decided on the next recruitment direction. Two teams of colonial infantry could be recruited for only five hundred taels of silver, while the same price could only recruit one team of militia. This shows how cost-effective the colonial infantry was.
As for the navy, he carefully compared the two twin-masted warships and ultimately chose the twin-masted frigate, which had a total of 26 nine-pounder guns, six more than its sister ship—although it cost 150 dollars more.
Finally, the most crucial officer—the spy.
As Zhu Jiheng attempted to summon a spy, the shadow in the corner of the government office seemed to distort slightly. A middle-aged man wearing a coarse cloth shirt, common among local Chinese, with an ordinary face that was completely unremarkable, silently emerged, as if he had been hiding in the corner the whole time.
The man stepped forward lightly and knelt on one knee before Zhu Jiheng, his voice deep and clear: "This humble servant, Zhang San, greets Your Highness."
Zhang San?
This name... is just like him, completely unremarkable.
Zhu Jiheng looked at this man who seemed born to blend into the crowd, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Zhang San, tell me, what are your skills?"
"Your Highness, I am skilled in disguise, communication, and intelligence gathering. I am willing to serve as Your Highness's eyes and ears, and to investigate all directions!" Zhang San replied, bowing his head.
"Very good." Zhu Jiheng nodded again, then changed the subject seriously, saying, "Manila is the foundation of the Western barbarians in Luzon. I need to know its troop deployment, the strength and weakness of its defenses, the governor's movements, and the internal affairs of the Chinese community. I order you to set off immediately, infiltrate Manila, and build an intelligence network for me at all costs. Money and manpower are not a problem. I want you to have all the movements in Manila under my control in the shortest possible time!"
Zhang San didn't even look up, his voice completely flat: "This humble servant obeys! I will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust!"
Having said that, he straightened up and, like ink dissolving in water, silently retreated into the shadows and disappeared.
Zhu Jiheng stared at the spot where Zhang San had disappeared, blinked, and suddenly stood up and took a few steps toward it. Only when he got closer did he realize that Zhang San was indeed gone.
"It can't really be stealthy, can it?" he muttered to himself, shook his head, and still didn't take the matter to heart.
……
The tense night finally came to an end. At dawn, the east turned a pale white, and the commotion in the city had long since subsided.
In order to appease the people as soon as possible, the adjutant immediately ordered multiple copies of the proclamation after it was drafted, and then ordered the cavalry to read it aloud in the streets.
As the cavalrymen read the announcement, the anxious Chinese finally understood what had happened the night before. They saw that the horses galloping by had the same Han Chinese faces as their own. Many people stared in disbelief for a moment, and then a huge surge of excitement, which had been suppressed for too long, welled up from the bottom of their hearts.
"The royal army! It really is the royal army attacking!"
An elderly man with white hair and beard shakily pushed open the door, his cloudy eyes fixed on the cavalrymen not far away, muttering to himself, his voice trembling with extreme excitement.
He recalled his son, forcibly conscripted by the Spanish and never to return, and the days of humiliation he had suffered. Overwhelmed with emotion, he collapsed to his knees and roared to the heavens:
"Heaven has eyes! The royal army... the royal army has really come! Great Ming! My Great Ming!"
Tears instantly streamed down his deeply lined face, the humiliation, fear, and anticipation suppressed for decades turning into scalding tears in that moment.
The cry was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.
More and more doors were pushed open, and people rushed onto the street, everyone with a happy expression. Whether they knew each other or not, they smiled, cupped their hands, and said "Congratulations".
Some Chinese who had witnessed or vaguely heard the sounds of battle last night also started talking to each other, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Did you hear that? It's the Ming Dynasty! It's the Ming army!"
"The heir of Prince Lu...that's a grandson of the Zhu family emperor! Heaven has eyes, the long-awaited arrival has finally come!"
"I knew those soldiers looked different last night, their steps were so precise, it turns out they were the royal army..."
"I wonder how long this royal army can last? What if it stays like it did under Koxinga..."
"Silence! Go check if you can submit the invoice for the goods that were stolen by the red-haired devil the other day."
As dawn broke, more and more Chinese shops tentatively opened their doors. At the Yue Lai Inn in the East District, Manager Chen had already hung a hastily found red cloth at the entrance with a large "Ming" character written in ink on it, attracting the attention of passersby.
Manager Chen himself stood at the door, beaming as he addressed every passerby: "Fellow villagers! Did you all hear and see that the distinguished guest who stayed at my inn last night was none other than His Highness the Crown Prince of our Great Ming Dynasty! The royal army we have been waiting for for decades!"
His Highness told me personally last night that from now on, we will no longer have to put up with the humiliation of those red-haired devils!
"Manager Chen, you've got a real advantage of being in such a convenient position!" someone exclaimed enviously.
"Not at all, not at all, it's all thanks to His Highness and the royal army!" Manager Chen grinned from ear to ear, but then remembered something and solemnly instructed, "Everyone, while you're celebrating, remember to obey the royal army's orders, don't cause trouble, and don't disturb military affairs! Everyone, listen carefully to those proclamations!"
Lin Lisheng, who happened to be passing by, heard these words and his expression changed, as if he had suddenly understood everything.
Zhu... the imperial surname of the Ming Dynasty, I should have realized it long ago!
"Good heavens! I actually traveled with His Highness the Crown Prince all the way and even accepted his money!"
Lin Lisheng felt a surge of heat rush to his head, which instantly transformed into immense fear and unbelievable excitement, causing his body to tremble slightly.
He suddenly remembered that he had expressed pessimism about whether the royal army would attack, and he broke out in a cold sweat.