The neat formation, the majestic pace, and the sonorous command, the infantry battalions lined up on the street. After the 'Revolutionary Army' seized the capital city, they deliberately held a grand parade to enter the city. In addition to the infantry, there were specially selected tall cavalry, as well as artillery carriages that were dragging artillery on the road quickly.
When the city was in a state of panic, such a parade was an eye-opener. From the officials and rich people in the capital city to the ordinary people, they all knew that the 'Revolutionary Army' was very strong. But how strong it was, they could really feel it today.
The soldiers who participated in the parade were all veterans who had served for more than a year. The leading officers generally served for two years and had studied in the Blessed Enclave. Adequate nutrition and training made the soldiers generally about five centimeters taller than ordinary people. Some soldiers happened to be in puberty. If they ate and drank enough, they could even grow ten centimeters taller and gain more than ten to twenty kilograms in a year.
When such a group of people lined up and entered the city, the ordinary people on the street were all amazed. Some of the nobles peeked from the corners of their own walls and courtyards, but they were also frightened by this steel master.
Fang Yizhe, Fang Shoufu, was frightened all day yesterday. He almost wanted to commit suicide when he heard the rumbling sound of cannons at night. But suddenly a eunuch from the palace came to knock on the door and said that the new emperor wanted to choose a daughter. He hesitated again.
Last night, more than a hundred people in the Fang family did not sleep. Fang Shoufu pulled out all of his wives and daughters to comment on them one by one. He even adopted more than a dozen good-looking maids overnight and was ready to send them to the palace to try their luck. But at dawn, before Fang Shoufu went out, he found that the streets and alleys of the city were guarded by soldiers.
These guards were also friendly. They took the initiative to publicize the military discipline and regulations of the 'Revolutionary Army', saying that they would never make it difficult for the ordinary people to live normally. They also told the people about the parade. This parade was not going to Tiananmen Square. At this time, not to mention the square, even Tiananmen was called the Gate of Heaven.
In order to expand the influence, Zhou Qingfeng ordered the organization of several regiments composed of infantry, cavalry, and cannons. Several regiments did nothing but ran back and forth on the main road of the city all day to show their image, publicize the revolution, and frighten the thieves.
It was rare to see such a military parade especially for the common people, so the common people were happy to see it. Grand Secretary Fang purposely dressed up and changed into a worn-out long robe, pretending to be an old scholar as he went out to take a look. The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army were all tall and strong. Their backs were straight, and the equipment on their bodies looked valuable. They were not comparable to the pitiful beggars of the Ming army.
"This soldier's complexion is rosy and his cheeks are plump. He looks even more majestic than the generals of the Great Han Dynasty who guard the palace. No wonder the Ming Army couldn't win. " Grand Secretary Fang's heart was shaken by the sound of those leather boots stomping on the ground just by watching them walk in unison. "The money used to support this soldier is enough to support a concubine."
As the infantry passed by, the common people were already stirred up, only then did they know that there were such strong soldiers in the world. However, the infantrymen were nothing. When the cavalry arrived from behind, many of them were so scared that they wet their pants and almost fell to the ground and cried bitterly. This was because not only were the cavalry in neat armor, but the tall horses were also specially selected. They were especially handsome.
Zhou Qingfeng had already transported a large number of Arabian horses from Goa. Sometimes, he even felt that Muhammad and other Tianfang merchants were too slow and would take the initiative to go to Arabia or even Egypt to buy horses. Although it was time-consuming to go further, the price was cheaper and the supply was more plentiful. They could also buy some local "local specialties" along the way.
The shoulder height of the Arabian horse was more than 1.5 meters. Some could even reach 1.6 meters. When the horse raised its head, it could exceed 1.8 meters. Its physique could reach half a ton. When a strong horse trotted over, the ground would tremble. What if it was a line of one or two hundred horses rushing over?
That would be like entering a wall. It would be a very impactful scene.
The cavalry slowed down and followed the infantry forward. They could exceed more than two meters on horseback and could completely overlook the common people on both sides of the street. In order to increase their deterrence, they purposely pulled out their shining cavalry sabers and held them vertically in front of their chest. They looked mighty and domineering. No wonder the common people were so scared that they wanted to run.
Fang Shoufu looked at the cavalry and his eyes widened. In his opinion, the ancient ravens and red rabbits were nothing more than this. But in front of him, there were rows of ravens and red rabbits passing in front of him. When those cavalrymen looked down on him with arrogant attitudes, he even felt a sense of inferiority. He had been the Prime Minister of the Great Ming Dynasty for many years, a high-ranking official who held the power of the world in his hands, but he was still inferior to a mere soldier.
The cavalry followed the infantry and the artillery followed behind. They did not use Arabian horses to pull the cannons. Instead, they continued to use Mongolian horses with good endurance. But the four-wheeled cannon carriages rumbled on the ground. The huge cannons glowed with a metallic luster. It made everyone understand that this was the sharp weapon of the battlefield, the God of War.
They could watch a military parade for five minutes, and many people were not satisfied after watching it. Their shock was gone, and their excitement was replaced by excitement. First, many children chased after the parade. Then, many young people followed closely behind to watch. For a whole day, more than half of the common people in the city could see with their own eyes what this cross-era strong army looked like.
There was a heated discussion in the streets and alleys. The originally panicked city immediately calmed down.
For this parade, Fang Shoufu only felt a chill in his heart. He was the Grand Secretary and had read countless military reports. But people said thousands of times about the strength of the Revolutionary Army, but it was not as shocking as seeing and feeling it with his own eyes. Now that he thought about it, the resistance strategies he had planned were completely a frog at the bottom of a well. It was lamentable and ridiculous.
Fang Yizhe's head was dizzy from the shock of the parade. He walked back home in a daze. After a few steps, he saw a person opposite him who was also dressed the same as him. After a closer look, it was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Ruhua. The two looked at each other and subconsciously wanted to greet each other, but they could not lift their hands. The two silently passed by each other and had no interest in talking. They were like strangers.
The world had nothing to do with them.
When they returned to the door of the Grand Secretary's residence, the Fang Residence's housekeeper held his robe and trotted forward, shouting, "Master, the Revolutionary Army is here. They also sent a notice saying that you should go to the palace at 10 o 'clock tomorrow morning and wait for the new appointment. "
New appointment?
A small flame ignited in Fang Yizhe's heart. He hurriedly grabbed the so-called notice and wrote a few short lines of simplified Chinese characters on it, which were half written and half written. He guessed that it meant that the officials of the capital did not need to worry too much. The people who needed to be dealt with had been urgently arrested last night. Those who could receive the notice today would not be punished and would be properly settled.
Arrested?
"Who was arrested last night?" Fang Shoufu asked the housekeeper.
The housekeeper said, "I heard that a few eunuchs in the palace were arrested. They were all charged with corruption. Other than that, there were also some arrogant and domineering old relatives of the emperor who had been arrested. There were also many people who had been arrested in the marketplace, all with different crimes. I heard that the Security Department of the Revolutionary Army had already placed people in the capital and had been investigating us for the past year. "
Fang Yizhe's heart trembled when he heard this. What the Daming literati hated the most was the factory security system that was not under their control and always handled cases in secret. They repeatedly attacked the East Faction Guards and the Brocade Guards. This kind of attack continued from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty. In various literary works and public opinion, the East Faction Guards' admiral was a big traitor and not a good person. But now it seemed …
"The new emperor not only hates the officials but also gets close to the factory guards. This is not a blessing for scholars like us." Fang Shoufu sighed and walked home. He asked again, "Last night, the palace sent news that there was a selection of women. What happened?"
"I heard from the palace that the Chaoyang Gate was broken last night and the Revolutionary Army entered from the east. Grand Marshal Zhou personally led people into the Forbidden City. At that time, Taichang Emperor was about to kill his harem wives, concubines, and children but was stopped by Grand Marshal Zhou. In addition, Grand Marshal Zhou seemed to be really interested in the harem concubines. Eunuch Ma of the East Faction Guards came back and arrested several of Wanli Emperor's concubines.
"Licentious and shameless! Why are they so hungry? " Fang Yizhe scolded a few times and said, "But now that things have come to this, we can't do anything. Send all the people selected last night."
"Among them are your granddaughter-in-law and great-granddaughter." The housekeeper specially reminded, "This seems to be against human relations."
"Alas …" Fang Yizhe waved his hand and walked into the backyard without making any comment.
The housekeeper knew that his master was not willing to make a decision and wanted to put this matter on his head. He could only sigh and arrange for the carriages to send the selected women to the palace. But not long after, the housekeeper anxiously ran back to report, "Master, something seems to be wrong. The palace wants us to continue sending."
"Continue?" Fang Yizhe almost jumped up. "I've already sent more than a dozen. Do we still need to send more?"
The housekeeper said with a bitter face, "News from the palace said that early this morning, a Concubine Xu took Eunuch Ma and scolded him, saying that he was a busybody."
"Concubine Xu?" Fang Yizhe knew that things were not good. This was the harem interfering in politics.
"It is said that this Concubine Xu can be half of Grand Marshal Zhou's family. She has a lot of power in her hands, comparable … comparable to Master's First Secretary in Daming." The housekeeper said simply.
"How could a woman have such authority? Tsk, tsk, tsk … What's wrong with this Concubine Xu? "
"When the news of the 'concubine selection' came out, someone sent people to the palace overnight last night. When I sent people there just now, there were already thousands of concubine candidates in the palace. Concubine Xu was furious when she learned of this, but she said that she might as well turn a bad thing into a good thing. She wanted to build a college in the capital. Not only would she choose women from the families of officials, but she would also choose men and women of the right age from the common people to enroll. "
From last October to this January, the Blessed Enclave had trained a thousand junior high school students, and all the personnel in the civil service and technical system of the 'Revolutionary Army' had been further studied. The talent reserve under Xu Bing had changed from quantity to quality, which allowed her to have a certain amount of teachers to build a comprehensive college in Tianjin.
When Xu Bing finally stabilized the whole city after a busy night, she saw that Master Zhou was actually selecting women in the palace. She was so angry that she pulled out a knife and chased after Zhou Qingfeng for two miles. Zhou Qingfeng tried to explain but it was useless, and he was chased everywhere. Although she was angry, she couldn't waste a large number of young women who had gathered with great difficulty. Xu Bing simply decided to build a college in the capital.
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