In fact, there is one thing that the people of the Central Plains are worried about, that is, Zhu Zhan Yan is synonymous with war.

In the years since he was evacuated from Shuntian, although Zhu Zhanyan has never left Xiangzhou Mansion, the pace of war has not stopped, but it is not the large-scale war of the previous one.

For Europe, Zhu Zhanyan has always had the idea of cutting the grass and eradicating the roots, and he has been working on this matter all these years.

By the time he left the European theater, Central and Eastern Europe had been pacified, and the following year, the Kingdom of France was in name, and the Ming army began to besiege the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile.

In the past year and a half, the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile were besieged and killed by the Ming army due to the topography, and the Ming army began to move to the north of Europe.

Later wars did not go so smoothly, because the territory occupied by the Ming army in Europe at that time was too vast, and it was necessary to attack northern Europe while stabilizing the land that had already been conquered.

It was at that time that Zhu Zhanyan went to Europe.

Later, after six years, Northern Europe was pacified, and from that time on, there was no decent resistance in the whole of Europe.

However, victory in the war did not mean the final result, and from the destruction of Northern Europe in the sixth year, the Ming army began a long process of cleaning up the remnants of Europe.

Until now, there are still nearly 200,000 resident Ming troops in Europe, of which only about 50,000 are soldiers trained by Zhu Zhan in Xiangzhou Mansion, and the remaining 150,000 are all soldiers of the Usizang Division.

However, whether it is the soldiers trained by Zhu Zhanyan himself or the soldiers of the Wusi Zangdu Division, they are all rotated every three years in a unit.

Therefore, this time he decided to set off again, Zhu Zhanyan is not short of people, firstly, he mobilized 100,000 soldiers from the Wusi Zangdu Division, and secondly, there are 150,000 permanent troops on the side of Xiangzhou Mansion alone.

100,000 soldiers of the Wusi Zangdu Division, and 70,000 from the permanent army of Xiangzhou Prefecture, plus 100,000 people, a total of 270,000 people, this is already a lot, and it is the configuration of a large-scale war.

However, with so many soldiers, as well as the food and weapons needed, this is not something that can be prepared in a moment, and I am afraid that only the orthodox emperor in this world thinks that war is nothing more than a matter that can be fought by the ruler with a touch of his upper and lower lips.

After more than 20 years, 70,000 soldiers and 50,000 soldiers of the Xiangzhou Prefecture have been prepared, and the household and military departments have also prepared the weapons, baggage, and logistics needed by these people.

War is not something that can be achieved overnight, and Zhu Zhanyan is ready to bring some people over first, firstly, to facilitate the investigation of the situation, and on the other hand, it is easy to mobilize.

Because, this expedition he plans to use a steamboat.

After twelve years of preparation, Xiangzhou Mansion has built more than 30 steamships, which may not seem like much, but there are already a lot in this era.

Because of the constraints of conditions, such as no electric welding, only forging welding can be chosen, no crane, can only lift heavy objects through simple instruments such as manpower and pulley blocks, etc., these restrictions make the manufacturing of steam ships even if the technology has matured, but the speed is still not fast.

However, Zhu Zhanyan felt that this was enough, because he was not rushing to fight a naval battle this time.

Orthodox sixteenth year, September twenty-four.

On the wharf of Xiangzhou Mansion, up to the first line of King Wu and down to the ordinary people, the entire wharf of Xiangzhou Mansion was crowded.

"Okay, don't send it, send it again and get on the ship."

Zhu Zhanyan looked at his parents and wife with a smile on his face, patted Zhu Qiming beside him, and motioned him to say goodbye to his elders.

Yes, that's right, in this battle, Zhu Zhanyan plans to bring Zhu Qiming.

First, because he thought that there would be no danger in this battle, and even if it was difficult, it would not be as difficult as his expedition to the Timurid Empire and Europe.

Second, it is because the strength of the current Xiangzhou Mansion is far from being comparable to Wara, and even the Ming Dynasty is not even good.

"Grandfather, grandmother, mother, don't worry, I will take care of my father!"

Zhu Qiming's face was irrepressibly excited, and he immediately patted his chest to reassure.

"In this battle, Qi Ming will definitely win the first credit! Let you feel the light on your face! ”

"Okay, good ......" Princess Wu looked at her grandson with a distressed expression, but did not stop it.

"What merit!?" Princess Wu was reluctant to criticize her grandson, but Hu Shanshu, a mother, would not let it go.

"It's a war! It's not child's play! ”

"Even if it's your father, when he went north with Emperor Taizong, he still had to obey military orders! At that time, your father personally led the army to exterminate the Japanese in the coastal area of Zhejiang, what about you? ”

"This time I went north, listen to your father, watch more, learn more, and do less, now you don't have the part to get started, everything has to be listened to by your father!"

"Oh......" The excitement on his face quickly disappeared, and Zhu Qiming drooped his head and responded to his mother's words dejectedly.

"Okay, let's go back early, let's leave early, and come back early." Seeing this, Zhu Zhanyan patted his son's back and said to his parents and wife.

"Go, son, get on board!"

"Huh!" Zhu Qiming's head, which was still drooping, stood up in an instant.

……

As Zhu Zhan and his son got on the ship, the unique whistle of the steam ship also sounded, and more than 30 steam ships carried Zhu Zhan and his son, 70,000 soldiers and 50,000 people, and marched towards the north that they had not been to for more than ten years.

……

Handsome ship, on deck.

Zhu Qiming is not the first time to take a boat, he had been to Suez by boat with his uncle Zhu Zhanqi a few years ago, although it was only a short three months, but it was a long-distance voyage.

However, for Zhu Qiming, this voyage has an extraordinary meaning.

Because, this time is the first time for Zhu Qiming to go home.

Although their first home was in Yingtianfu, and he Zhu Qiming was born in Shuntianfu, there is no fragment of Shuntianfu in his memory.

"Dad, why did you leave in the first place?" Thinking of this, Zhu Qiming couldn't help but raise his head and look at his father.

"Leave?" Zhu Zhanyan was stunned for a moment, but soon understood what his son wanted to say.

"Do you mean Suncheonfu?"

"Hmm." Zhu Qiming nodded, his eyes turned to the north, with a strong yearning.

"Although you and Grandpa didn't tell me, I heard others say that you were actually one step away from succeeding back then, but you chose to leave."

"Since I was a child, you have taught me that as long as you set a goal, you must work towards it until you achieve it, but why did you give up?"

"Hehe......" Zhu Zhanyan smiled and rubbed his son's head.

"First of all, to correct you, that position is not your father's goal, if it was really my goal, I wouldn't have left so decisively back then."

"Then, I'll tell you something."

"If someone were to give you a porcelain cup and tell you that it was fired using a special process and that its hardness was comparable to that of steel, what would be your first thought?"

"Hmm......" Zhu Qiming frowned and said with a little uncertainty.

"Try it?"

"That's right." Zhu Zhanyan nodded.

"You'll try to fall first, and if you don't break, you'll choose a higher height, and if you can't break it, you'll keep choosing a higher height until it breaks."

"That is, when you start to doubt the hardness of this cup, the cup is actually broken."

"Back then, whether it was your cousin Qizhen or the Empress Dowager, or even the entire Central Plains people, they thought that I would usurp the throne, as for whether I had that heart or not, it didn't matter anymore."

When Zhu Qiming heard this, he looked at his father in a daze.

He was thirteen years old, but for the first time in his memory, his father looked like this.

(End of chapter)