Methwald conveyed to Chongzhen through Zheng Cai the idea of following him north to participate in military exercises, but Zhu Youzhen refused his request because he had to inspect the shipyard and the Tangshan iron smelting base when he went north, and these places had too many secrets that were not suitable for outsiders to visit.

However, Methwald did not give up, and after he heard that the exercise needed to recruit some ships for transporting supplies, he made an application through Zheng Cai again, and used his merchant ships to undertake some transportation tasks.

Although he left the capital a day later than Chongzhen, because the military logistics department used standard barreled materials, he was able to quickly load and unload the goods, coupled with the smooth sea voyage, when he arrived at Qinhuangdao and then transferred to Yongping Mansion, the Chongzhen convoy that patrolled all the way had not yet arrived in Yongping.

The government of Yongping Mansion is in Lulong County, which is the key place of transportation connecting Shanhaiguan and Jingshi, so it is densely populated and businessmen gather, and it is also the largest prefecture in Jingdong.

When Methwold arrived, he learned that the Emperor would arrive in a day's time, so he found a place to stay in the city.

Although it is known as the first capital of Jingdong, it is still a small town with few streets compared to big cities such as Beijing and Tianjin. After meeting Meswald in Beijing and Tianjin, he soon walked through the few streets in the city.

The goods displayed on the streets did not interest Methwald, and his appearance and clothing, which were very different from those of the Chinese, attracted the attention of many Chinese, not all of whom were well-intentioned.

In order not to cause further trouble, Methwald dismissed the idea of continuing the stroll, and chose to go back to the inn he had booked.

Feeling idle in the room, Methwald decided to record his adventure completely and hand it over to the company as a source of research on China.

Messwold, who opened his diary and took out a pen dipped in water, thought for a long time before dipping it in ink and writing: "One thousand six hundred and thirty years after the birth of Christ... I arrived at a city called Lulong before the 15th day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.

The city is located on the edge of a large river, and although the river called the Luan River is much narrower than the Thames, it is said that in summer it can double the surface of the river in winter, and it can carry a lot of sediment down from the upper reaches of the river, which shows that the upper reaches of the river must be a very thick soil area.

Lulong is a square castle enclosed by earthen walls, and although its façade is inlaid with bricks and bluestone, the height of the walls is only about 10-12 feet, so it is not a deterrent fortress.

The population of Loulon was slightly larger than that of Plymouth, but it was about a third smaller, with only a few small cannons resembling eagle cannons on its walls, and the soldiers defending the city, although well-equipped, lacked the spirit of being a warrior. Of course, compared to his southern counterpart, the soldier here still looks like a soldier, not a part-time trader or farmer.

The only thing worth aweing is that there are only about a dozen cities similar to Plymouth in our country. But in China, there are hundreds of cities like Lulong. Although this is what the Chinese say, I don't think they are exaggerating, and in my own travels in the southern provinces of China, I have seen more than twenty cities larger and better than Lulong..."

Zhu Youzhen crossed the Luan River on a ferry, and saw Methwold, who was out of place with the others, at the ferry, and he beckoned the general manager of the British East India Company for Asia to come to him and ask him how he had come here.

Zhu Youzhen said to him helplessly: "Okay, okay, since you want to visit the military exercises of the Ming Dynasty so much, then follow me." But don't run around, my soldiers have very little contact with Europeans, and I'm afraid they'll be rude to you, and I don't want to lose a friend by accident. ”

After Bending his knees and saluting Zhu Youzhen, Methwald said very seriously: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely act according to your orders, stay by your side, and not go anywhere." Rest assured, I still value my life. ”

Although Methwald finally got his wish, in the days that followed, he soon realized that following Chongzhen's side was not a good errand.

On 17 September, Chongzhen arrived at Shanhaiguan, met with Sun Chengzong, Wang Zaijin and others, and inspected the Ming troops at Shanhaiguan by the way.

Methwald's most profound impact on this trip to Shanhaiguan was not the Shanhaiguan Pass, which is called the first pass in the world by the Chinese, but the Ming soldiers who were inspected by the emperor.

He wrote in his diary: "... This afternoon, His Majesty the Emperor inspected his army at the foot of the Great Wall, which is said to be only a small part of the army that His Majesty has in his possession.

Hundreds of infantry companies and thirty cavalry companies were inspected by His Majesty the Emperor, and according to the Chinese establishment, the number of infantry companies varies from man; For a cavalry company, there are about 35 to 50 men.

In other words, just a small part of the army inspected by His Majesty the Emperor has exceeded 20,000 people. I have taken a closer look at these infantry and cavalry, and I think that at least a third of the soldiers in the infantry company are elite, better equipped than the others, taller and more robust, and not weaker than our best soldiers. The other two-thirds of the soldiers are about the level of the garrison of Lulong City, which is enough to defend a castle.

As for the cavalry of the Ming army, I thought they were also some good lads, but their mounts and equipment were not good enough, and they seemed to be more similar to the light cavalry of the Tatars, and it was difficult to compare with the cavalry of Europe.

… What surprised me the most was that these armies did not belong to the lords who were loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, but also belonged to His Majesty's personal property and swore allegiance to His Majesty.

If in our country, the royal family had to support such a huge army, maybe our king would have gone bankrupt long ago. Of course, if the king has such a powerful army in his hands, it should be difficult for our nobles to sleep..."

After staying in Shanhaiguan for two days, Zhu Youzhen returned to Lulong, and then rushed from Lulong to Zunhua. There is a railway connection between Lulongcheng and Shanhaiguan, but there is no Lulong to Santunying and Zunhua directions.

At this time, the military exercises inside and outside the Guanxi had already begun, and in order to rush to Zunhua City as soon as possible, Zhu Youzhen threw away all the living utensils that were inconvenient to carry, and set off from Lulong on a light horse.

Lulong County is about 300 miles from Zunhua City, and one-third of it is a hilly and mountainous road. Zhu Youzhen, who had little experience in long-distance riding, quickly learned a lesson on this road, and at the end of the first day, he felt that his thighs no longer belonged to him.

However, except for the second day, the journey was reduced by 10 miles, and on the third and fourth days, he gritted his teeth and completed the daily march of 80 miles. So on the evening of September 27, Chongzhen, who took 500 guard troops, finally arrived at the city of Zunhua.

When Zhu Youzhen saw the city wall of Zunhua City, it was like seeing a comfortable bed when he was sleepy, and he couldn't wait to fly over this distance immediately. Relieved, he slowed down his progress and asked people to go to the city to inform the officials stationed there.

In his spare time waiting for the officials in the city to come out to greet him, Zhu Youzhen also took a look at the accompanying guards and other personnel. Only then did he realize that among his guards, all those who were born in the capital were in worse condition than him. It is estimated that if it weren't for his leading role, a small half of these guards would have fallen directly.

Of course, not everyone has become a crumbling shrimp after four days of riding. Hai Lanzhu, Meswold, and several Mongolian attendants who followed Chongzhen still looked relaxed.

Seeing that Hai Lanzhu beside him didn't seem to be affected at all, Zhu Youzhen also had to straighten his waist on the horse, unwilling to be compared to such a woman.

Mao Yuanyi, Wu Huai and others had arrived in Zunhua more than ten days ago, and when they heard the news of the emperor's arrival, they hurriedly went out of the city with Zhao Shujiao to greet them.

Originally, they wanted to report the progress of the exercise to the emperor, but looking at the emperor who was staggering after dismounting, everyone let Chongzhen rest first.

The next day, after three poles in the sun, Zhu Youzhen got up lazily and put on his clothes under the service of Hai Lanzhu. With the capital of young people, coupled with the training in the past three years, the fatigue caused by long-distance riding disappeared most of them immediately after a comfortable sleep.

After eating breakfast, Zhu Youzhen went to the lobby to listen to the unfinished reports of Mao Yuanyi, Zhao Shujiao and others yesterday.

The General Staff has already judged that it is impossible for Jin to make a detour to attack Jizhou after this year, so the military exercises organized inside and outside the customs are mainly aimed at the Ningjin defense line outside the Guan, and Jizhou is just a warm-up here to support the crisis that may arise outside the Guan.

Therefore, although the exercise in Jizhou began 10 days ago, the troops were not all mobilized to the exercise site near Baozizhai.

As a matter of fact, after seeing the exercise plan, Zhao Shujiao and other local generals have already put forward a military exercise plan opposing the mobilization of the Jizhou army.

They believed that since Jizhou Town still had to bear the task of supporting Guanwai, it would be a bit inappropriate to withdraw all the mobile troops and place them near Baozizhai for exercises.

First, it increased the distance between the exercise army in Jizhou Town and Shanhaiguan; Second, running around is also a great waste of the army's physical strength and morale.

Therefore, they suggested that the military exercise in Jizhou should be divided into three parts, with Baozizhai as the main exercise venue for the Beijing army and the Zunhua garrison to conduct the exercise. The Wednesday Fear, which is building a city outside the gates, is conducting exercises locally. The defenders of the Great Wall north of Zunhua gathered near the Santun camp for drills.