novelonline Chapter 927 Pioneer Team
Chapter 927 Pioneer Team
Chapter 927 Pioneer Team
More than a month has passed, but Lu Quandi still remembers the loud explosion caused by the Ming army's cannons flying into the city wall.
At that moment, it seemed as if the earth was shaking, and the human body was like a piece of paper, which would disappear in a single touch.
The city of Manila was completely unable to hold out under this kind of artillery bombardment. Even if they were to compete in military morale after the bombardment, they would be no match at all.
In fact, the later Spanish colonists encountered strong resistance from the local indigenous people during their occupation of Luzon. This was mainly a problem of tactics. The indigenous people at that time were good at using poison arrows to attack from a long distance, and they were hiding in the corners of this broken island and were difficult to eliminate in one go.
But the Ming army used cannons and muskets, and the attack range of these two weapons exceeded that of bows and arrows pulled by manpower.
As for those hidden in the deep mountains and forests...
Zai Yao has also thought of a solution, but it cannot be implemented yet.
The solution was to liberalize the sale of muskets so that ordinary people who immigrated to Luzon could own firearms. In this way, they would no longer have to be afraid of those "savages" during the process of pioneering, even those who had not received much military training.
But in the reality of the feudal dynasty, hiding knives and armor at home would be considered as treason, and what would happen if even muskets were taken away?
There was no other way, Zai Yao could only settle for the next best thing. He mobilized the people in the settlements occupied by the Ming Dynasty to form a militia, and then assigned them regular soldiers for training and leadership to form patrol teams scattered throughout the place.
This is a bit like the garrison soldiers in the north, who serve as soldiers in wartime and farm in peacetime.
Somewhat differently, farming was not really necessary, as it was done by slaves.
For the Ming court or the majesty of a great country, capturing the King of Luzon and placing him under house arrest in the capital in a humiliating manner was a landmark event.
But for ordinary people like Lu Quandi, he had never seen Suleiman II.
He only knew that the Luzon Governor's Office of the Ming Dynasty gave him 100 acres of land, and after the war, more than 40 native slaves were sent. These people were numbered and given to the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Otherwise, a family of three would not be able to take care of a hundred acres of land even if they worked themselves to death.
Public security was the responsibility of the Ming army stationed there.
To a certain extent, this was a military zone, where the army replaced the administrative functions of the government. They were responsible for maintaining public order, mediating disputes of all sizes among the people, numbering and distributing slaves, and collecting taxes.
A settlement, a castle, is a small world.
Beishibao, where Lu Quandi is located, is a typical example. In addition, there are seven other castles of different sizes, including Xinshitangbao, Bashihebao, and Haiwanbao.
The people in the castle woke up in the morning,
Women are responsible for preparing meals for the whole family, and children also have to get up early and go to school in the fort. Because this is an overseas place, it is still somewhat dangerous, so in addition to studying the Four Books and Five Classics, science and culture, they also have to learn basic military skills.
As for men,
Like Lu Quandi, he had to take care of his broken horse early in the morning.
This was the name given to the beast by his wife. Whenever the couple quarreled, she would say that he valued horses more than anything else and that he might as well live with a horse.
Lu Quandi didn't care at all. He fed and washed the baby himself every day and took good care of him.
When he got anxious, he shouted, "When times are bad, this beast is worth more than us! We can't sell it for 20 taels of silver!"
After breakfast, he made an appointment with his neighbors to go on a "patrol" together.
Usually there are a dozen men riding on horses. If someone is on patrol, he or she will also receive a musket. Then they will gather together to check the fields again and again.
Usually when they arrived, there were already people working in the fields, weeding or digging ditches. In the countryside, there was always work to do in the fields.
That morning, a rider came galloping across the fertile fields under the blue sky and white clouds. Holding an imperial decree, he ran to the men including Lü Quandi and announced loudly, "Captain Wan's order, assemble at the training camp in the fort!"
"Order!"
Lu Quandi also knows these now.
Then, these dozen men mounted their horses one after another, and whenever they passed by a field, they would joke about which slaves were not working hard.
So the owner of the house scolded him again.
These days, there isn't so much civilization and humanity. Who says you are not a citizen of a big country?
The training camp has gathered most of the able-bodied men in the fort.
No matter what their identities were in the past, refugees or bandits, now that life is better, everyone is a decent person.
The captain with the surname Wan used to be a centurion in the navy, but now he has become the "local emperor" of Beishibao. Every household in the fort has to address him as Captain Wan, which is quite impressive.
"My fellow citizens, I have the latest order from the Governor's Office. We have already captured the cowardly king of Luzon and sent him to the capital to kowtow to our emperor. From now on, there is no such thing as Luzon. These vast tracts of land belong to us.
We haven't measured how big this damn place is exactly. It's dangerous to go deeper, but it's estimated that there are tens of millions of acres of land!
The problem now is that we don't have enough manpower. Although people have been transported from the inland, it will take some time after all to cross the ocean. But we don't have time.
why?
Because the people of Xinshitangbao have already taken action. It's not that they are afraid of them occupying more land. The key is that if others develop well and pay more grain, the court will recognize them. In the future, when there are new people, they must be guaranteed first. Isn't this falling behind step by step? ! Do you agree or not? ! "
"No! No!"
Lu Quandi was mixed in the crowd, feeling his blood boiling.
He felt that the time he spent in Beishibao was extremely refreshing.
"Okay!" Captain Wan put his hands on his waist, looking very high-spirited. "That's why we called everyone here today. We in Beishibao are going to form five special pioneering teams! Each team will have 80 people. After dividing into different areas, we will work together to open up the north! Even if everything else is a lie, his damn land will not lie!"
According to regulations, pioneer teams can apply to the Governor's Office for firearms and ammunition.
The price is that they will have to "divide the spoils" with the Governor's Office later, including food, land, and any form of assets will be accepted.
Only after the Governor-General's Office obtained these newly reclaimed lands could it continue to settle the people of the Ming Dynasty who had traveled across the ocean.
Then expand the population of each castle and open up new castles, thus completing a cycle.
In addition to these pioneering teams spontaneously formed by the people, merchants who came to Luzon were also allowed to organize such teams.
There is no logic in this. The Ming Dynasty was just using all its strength to digest these newly acquired lands.
When Lu Quandi got home at noon, he shared this with his wife.
On the table, steaming white rice is no longer a special treat only during festivals. Dishes also include eggs and pork with some fat.
Only after you fill your stomach will you have the strength.
"So, there's going to be another war?"
"What kind of battle is there?" Lü Quandi patted his belly and said with satisfaction, "If we really encounter an indigenous fortress that cannot be taken down, Captain Wan will report it to the Governor's Office. In a few days, either a musket team or a cannon will be brought in. After a few blasts, everything will be fine! What's left for us is not even enough to fill our teeth."
"You still have to be careful. Hasn't someone been ambushed and then poisoned to death? You don't even have a son."
When talking about this, Lu Quandi chuckled.
He has been thinking about taking a concubine recently.
Men, that's all.
I have land and a wife, but I don't raise a son. Who will these things belong to? If he follows my daughter, won't that be a bargain for others?
"Don't worry, I'm pretty agile. Old Song next door hides behind me every day. By the way, when I'm out, please take care of the family and don't leave the fort as much as possible. Those natives can be lazy, and I'll deal with them when I come back!"
Yes,
In order to protect the people of Ming Dynasty,
They all lived in the fort.
The natives are all outside.
Although they did not treat the natives too badly, they were not that good to them in those days.
The women and children are all at home. Once the men go out, how can their safety be guaranteed if we don't build a castle?
"Oh my, now you keep calling me 'old man'." His wife laughed at him, "I see you don't do any work every day, you just try to act like a boss."
Lu Quandi shook his head, his smug expression showing no trace of the cowardly look he had when he first arrived. He shook his sleeves and said, "I am the boss now."
"Hahaha." The woman laughed out loud.
Lu Quandi was annoyed by her laughter, "Alright, alright, I'm leaving now. I'm going to do something big to show you."
"Wait a minute!"
His wife looked around at the door, then turned around and said, "The child is at school. It's not time for him to come back yet. I just told you that you don't have a son yet! Come in with me."
"Now?"
"Hey, for the sake of your Lu family's incense, I went to ask Doctor Kang for the folk remedy. Why don't you try it?"
……
……
"Drive the big horse! Drive the big horse!"
In the private school inside the fortress, a large number of childish kids ran out shouting.
Learning to read in class is not as interesting as riding horses.
The official doctor Kang Yuanzi from the next room ran out in a hurry, pointed at the boys and said, "You three stay here. Are you fully healed? Why are you riding a horse?"
Dr. Kang had a great reputation, and any children who offended him were basically beaten.
So his words worked.
The naughty kids didn't care about that and the older kids who were leading the group just laughed at them.
After arriving at the horse farm, they each had a horse and were very skilled at climbing onto the horses.
"Horse racing! Horse racing! Whoever loses today will bark like a dog!"
Every time this happened, Kang Yuanzi became very worried, fearing that some naughty kid would accidentally fall off his horse and get hurt. However, in the 21st year of Zhengde, martial arts had become a trend in the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention that in a place like Luzon, how many people who have made contributions and received rewards have no martial arts skills?
Therefore, the captain did not allow Kang Yuanzi to stop them, and even publicly announced that falling down now was better than falling down in the future when being chased by the enemy.
"Doctor Kang, Doctor Kang."
A little girl about ten years old walked over nearby, her face full of anxiety and she was also running out of breath.
Kang Yuanzi rushed over and said, "Xiaolan? What's wrong?"
"My Third Mother, my Third Mother is about to give birth, please ask Doctor Kang to come over!"
"Another baby?!" He immediately went back to get the medicine box. His hands and feet were nimble, but his words were harsh. "What's wrong with your Song family? You were the only girl they gave birth to in such a long time, but now you're giving birth one baby after another!"
"Stop talking, just go!"
(End of this chapter)