Before long, Europa's countless explorers and conquistadors were eager to start their dream of conquering the world.

And the Rus' in Eurasia will also embark on the road of brutal expansion, the Mongols of the Golden Horde will not be able to contain the rise of the Rus' at all, once these expansionist old Maozi begin to rise, the Ming Dynasty will add a strong opponent on land.

Therefore, in order to better deal with competitors on land and sea in the future, the Ming Dynasty must take the northeast, a wild land that is all late, into its own control as soon as possible.

"Then His Highness means that the Jurchens in the north must subdue them?" Mao Gui asked.

Zhu Han nodded, and said with great certainty: "That's right, not only to conquer them militarily, but also to conquer them psychologically, to let these Jurchens in the wilderness accept the fact that they are the people of the Ming Dynasty, and let them dedicate their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty." ”

Zhu Han's words show that these Jurchens in the north are not only to be conquered in name.

It's about de facto control.

"Your Highness, the last general is still worried about the difficulty of marching along the way!" Mao Gui said with some embarrassment.

Liu Bowen and others next to him also hurriedly helped Mao Gui explain.

Their reason is nothing more than that the roads are difficult to travel, the logistics and supplies cannot keep up, and the forest, sea and snow fields in the northeast are the norm, and once the short summer is over, it will immediately become a bitter cold place that cannot survive, and how many elite soldiers and strong generals may not be enough for God to clean up.

"Now that summer has begun, those deep mountains and old forests are already full of lakes and swamps, and there is no place for horse-drawn carriages, and if you only use people to pick up horses, no amount of grain and grass can reach the front line." Liu Bowen hurriedly persuaded beside him.

After hearing these words, Zhu Han smiled slightly.

"Since this road doesn't work, let's go the other way!"

Mao Gui, Liu Bowen and others were stunned, they never knew that there was another road to the north.

And the confused Mao Gui was even more puzzled, he had been dealing with the Jurchens for several years, and he had never heard of any other roads leading to the north.

"Dare to ask Your Highness, where is this road?" Mao Gui asked suspiciously.

Zhu Han immediately sent someone to get his battle map, he unfolded the map on the table, stretched out his hand, and said to Mao Gui, Liu Bowen and others.

"You see that's the way to go!"

Mao Gui, Liu Bowen and the others looked down and immediately realized.

"Your Highness, you were talking about the sea route?"

That's right, Zhu Han wants to enter the Outer Northeast, and the channel he wants to take is to advance from the sea.

The swamps in the middle of the Northeast Great Plain may not have roads at all, and there are no decades of reclamation and construction, so the Ming army does not want to pass through it safely.

After all, today's Ming army is very dependent on baggage and artillery, these things are very heavy, and without those heavy carriages, it is impossible to reach the battlefield in front.

The route Zhu Han chose was to start from the seaport in southern Liaonan, Shandong, first bypassing the Goryeo Peninsula, then crossing the Whale Sea, and heading north to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River.

As long as the Ming army established a fortress base at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, then it could hoard a large amount of materials and equipment here.

The Heilongjiang River has abundant water flow, and there are many tributaries, and there is a water network that covers the entire outer northeast area.

The Ming army could use the Heilongjiang River as its own natural canal, and use the warships of the navy as a tool to project the power of the Ming army to various places in the outer northeast.

As long as there are sufficient logistical supplies and weapons and equipment, then the Ming army is destined to be invincible in this land, and it is only a matter of time before other Jurchen and other tribes are conquered.

As soon as Zhu Han said his conquest route by means of naval warships, Mao Gui, Liu Bowen and others were immediately impressed.

It's just that Mao Gui soon discovered another shortcoming.

"Your Highness, the water transportation of this Heilongjiang River is indeed convenient, but the bitter cold land in the Northeast is frozen for most of the year, and the water of this river will definitely be frozen, and there will be no passage of ships at that time, what should we do?" Mao Gui asked.

"Haha, this is not a problem at all, if the rivers in the northeast are frozen, then they are also natural roads, as long as I am equipped with this new type of sled, I will definitely be able to speed on the ice like the wind." As he spoke, Zhu Han took out a charcoal pen and quickly drew a model drawing of a sled on the straw paper.

Mao Gui, Liu Bowen and others stepped forward, took a closer look, and immediately recognized the key points.

"Your Highness, the lower official understands, this sled is made of double teeth made of fine iron?" Liu Bowen looked at the above pattern and asked.

Zhu Han nodded, and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu is right, the sleds on this are all made of fine iron cast skids, which are stronger than the wood used by the Jurchens, and can transport more goods and personnel, and then only need to be equipped with sufficient cold-resistant horses and sled dogs, and my Ming army can still travel unhindered in the Heilongjiang area when the weather is cold." ”

Zhu Han's strategy was basically the common method used by later Tsarist Russia to conquer Siberia and the Outer Northeast.

The period of expansion of Tsarist Russia in history took less than a hundred years.

It expanded from the Volga River all the way to the area of the Great Khing'an Mountains in the outer northeast.

On that frozen snowfield, the Cossacks of Tsarist Russia rode on horses in spring and summer, and in autumn and winter on specially made sleighs.

The fishing and hunting peoples of Siberia and the Outer Northeast were unable to resist the sudden advance of the Russian Cossacks, and with less than a few hundred outlaws, Tsarist Russia conquered tens of thousands of Siberian natives along the way, expanding five or six million square kilometers of land.

Therefore, Zhu Han naturally did not hesitate to bring over the means of transportation used by the Tsarist Russian Cossacks.

As long as the Ming army used a strong navy to build a base camp fortress at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, then it could use horses and sleds to completely conquer the local Jurchen and other tribes along the Heilongjiang River.

As for the subsequent indoctrination, in fact, it is assimilation, which is very simple for the Ming Dynasty, and in the matter of assimilating barbarians, the Chinese civilization is a few grades higher than that of Tsarist Russia.

"Hu Dahai!" Zhu Han exclaimed.

Hu Dahai, who listened to him for a long time, immediately realized that his opportunity to make a contribution had come.

The Ming army's northern expedition to the Mongols this time, almost all of them were infantry and cavalry in the establishment of meritorious deeds, Hu Dahai's navy in addition to transporting troops and supplies, the whole process was a spectator, the entire Ming navy was full of indignation, seeing the infantry and cavalry meritorious service, but they could only be greedy.

"Your Highness, the last general!"

Hu Dahai immediately responded.

Zhu Han pointed with his hand, and said to Hu Dahai on the map on the table.

"You have already heard what I just said, this king has decided to set up the Haidong Metropolitan Protectorate in Heilongjiang, and you Hu Dahai will serve as the Grand Protector of the Haidong Metropolitan Protectorate, and all the soldiers, supplies and equipment of the Haidong Metropolitan Protectorate need to be transported by you and the naval warships, and the matter of setting up a fortress and deploying troops here in the early stage will also be handed over to you to be responsible for!" Zhu Han said.

When Hu Dahai heard this, he immediately became excited.

The map on the table clearly showed that it was a very vast land.

It's almost the size of half of the Central Plains.

If he can conquer such a large piece of land, what a great meritorious achievement he has made, which is enough for the descendants of the old Hu family to be of infinite use!

Moreover, His Royal Highness the King of England has full trust in him Hu Dahai in this matter, and the Haidong Metropolitan Protectorate started from scratch, and Hu Dahai was almost entirely responsible for it independently.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the last general will definitely live up to his mission!" Hu Dahai said immediately.

Under Zhu Han's shroud, Hu Dahai immediately gathered troops from southern Liaoning and Dengzhou, Shandong, with the navy as the main force, and marched towards the mouth of Heilongjiang.

This distance is actually very far, but because of the navigation chart guidance given by Zhu Han, Hu Dahai led the Daming Navy to find a very suitable base at the mouth of Heilongjiang in less than a month.

By the time of June of the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Han had already received Hu Dahai's performance.

The Ming army had already built a fortress at the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, which was beginning to take shape.

As the base camp of the Haidong Protectorate, the Ming army deployed more than 1,000 troops in this fortress, hoarded a large amount of food, weapons and ammunition, and built a simple dock on the seaside.

Several Jurchen tribes around were all terrified after seeing the Ming army that suddenly appeared at this moment.

These tribes had different attitudes towards the Ming army, some tribes were hostile to the Ming army, and even repeatedly attacked the Ming army's reconnaissance cavalry outside, while some tribes took the initiative to approach the Ming army, trading with the Ming army with gold and animal skins in their hands, in exchange for rare things such as salt and sugar.

Therefore, in order to establish the prestige of the Ming Dynasty in this place, Hu Dahai launched two campaigns in succession.

wiped out several small tribes around the Ming army who dared to offend the Ming army, showing the thunderous methods of the Ming army.

And for those fishing and hunting tribes who are willing to cooperate with themselves.

Hu Dahai sent people to give them a lot of grain, salt, sugar and medicinal materials, etc., and also absorbed them into the sequence of the Ming army and formed auxiliary soldiers and horses.

In less than two months.

It was here that Hu Dahai gave both grace and power, and initially established a new order led by the Ming Dynasty.

The tenth day of the sixth month.

Zhu Han led his guards to Fuzhou, from where he would arrive in Hebei by sea ship to witness the last moments of his elder brother Zhu Yuanzhang's march into the capital.

After the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Middle Ming Road led by Zhu Yuanzhang captured Baoding, Hejian Prefecture, there was no one who could stop the Ming army from entering Dadu.

The Mengyuan court had fled from the capital in a hurry, leaving almost only an empty city.

Many Han people in the capital spontaneously gathered, drove away the remaining Mengyuan officials and soldiers and horses, controlled the city defense inside and outside the capital, and quickly sent people to the south to send a letter to the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang to dedicate the city.

The Han Dynasty has lost the sixteen states of Yanyun since the Five Dynasties, and now it is finally about to recover.

At such a famous moment in history, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally would not forget to let Zhu Han come, and he issued three holy decrees one after another, urging Zhu Han to hurry up and enter the capital city hand in hand with him.

Zhu Han couldn't resist the insistence of his brother Zhu Yuanzhang, so he could only go to Hebei helplessly.

On the dock in Fuzhou, Zhu Han met Hu Dahai and others.

"Hu Dahai, what are you transporting here?" Zhu Han pulled Hu Dahai over next to him and asked.

After hearing Zhu Han's inquiry, Hu Dahai said in a show-off tone, "Your Highness, the territory of our Haidong Metropolitan Mansion is too big now, and one person and one horse is no longer enough, I will come to Fuzhou this time to carry five hundred more war horses back!" ”

"I've read the battle report you sent me several times, you did a good job, you must not be merciful to these Jurchen tribes, kill those who should be killed, and win over those who should be wooed, don't let them think that I am weak and bullying." Zhu Han nodded beside him and said.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the last general has always kept in mind His Highness's teachings, and this time he will transport five hundred batches of war horses back, and he can defeat two more disobedient savage tribes." Hu Dahai said with a smile.

"King Kong is not bad Dazhai Master"

"Oh, aren't these two hordes of savages disobedient?" Zhu Han asked.

Hu Dahai smiled, "Your Highness, these two savage tribes are not very disobedient, but they are really unlucky, the last general's subordinates have found a huge gold mine on their territory, if these two savage tribes are not eradicated, won't this gold mine be shared by them?" ”

Zhu Han understood the reason, so he smiled and stopped talking, some unlucky savage tribes were just not worth his attention.

This time, Hu Dahai transported 500 warhorses and used 10 warships.

After leaving Fuzhou, the fleet first passed through Dengju in Shandong and then bypassed the southernmost tip of the Goryeo Peninsula.

When the fleet entered the whale sea, they suddenly found that the weather on the sea began to become gradually worse.

Hu Dahai's fleet ventured to sail in the summer, and finally met with bad luck.

A storm is coming!

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the storm raged on the sea as if it never stopped.

The mighty waves shook the ship like a leaf.

Hu Dahai's fleet was in the midst of this storm, drifting aimlessly, they had lowered all their sails to prevent the ship from capsizing, and some of the ships cut off the main tail rod in order to lower their center of gravity.

Sailboats that can't rely on the power of the wind can only rely on their own luck to sail aimlessly in the storm.

"God, open your eyes, we can't die in this place with more than a thousand people!" Hu Dahai stood at the bow of the ship and watched the terrible storm outside, praying in his heart.

Their team all uses fast sailing boats, their own size is limited, and their ability to withstand damage in the storm is also very limited, once the storm is raging, then these ships will fall apart sooner or later, and the brothers will also go to the sea to feed the fish after they go online.

However, God did not stop the storm because of Hu Dahai's prayers, and after surviving a day and a night, the storm gradually became smaller, but the rain in the sky still kept falling.