Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Father."

In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Gaosui sneaked in cautiously. Seeing Zhu Di reviewing the memorial, he called out quietly.

Jin Zhong handed the memorial to the side, but Zhu Di didn't criticize it very carefully. He sat on the cushion and leaned on the dragon chair and rubbed his temples painfully, like a class teacher correcting homework for students after get off work.

Zhu Neng and Qiu Fu were standing on the other side. Seeing that his father ignored him, Zhu Gaosui wisely shut up.

The two direct lineage princes and the military advisor Jin Zhong seemed to be planning military affairs. If nothing else, they should be discussing the conquest of Annan, which was an imminent matter.

In fact, in this May, a series of things have come together. The Japanese mission is not very important at the moment. It can only be said to be a small episode. The highlight is the death anniversary of Taizu in a few days, and then the evaluation of generals. level, and then the army set out to conquer Annan.

"After the anniversary of Taizu's death, after the ranking of the generals, we will start to use troops on the southern front. After all, it will be more than ten days later. Since the main force in Nanjing is going to be dispatched, the northern front must be fully prepared. "

Zhu Di said to himself: "The Northern Front has barely filled the force hole caused by the Jing Nan this year, but the two families of King Qin and King Jin still need to be dealt with, otherwise there will be leaks in the middle."

After saying that, Gulu stood up and several people came to the back of the screen, where a map of the Ming Dynasty was hung.

Zhu Gaosui was used to being an invisible man, so he followed him directly. When he passed the dragon chair, he glanced at the memorial on the case. It was the memorial of Song Sheng, the chief military officer of Gansu Province. Sheng's consistent style.

"Hui Hui said something unexpectedly. It seems that King Samarkand Hui Hui and Besel Bali Shami Chagan wanted to lead his troops eastwards in a false way. He must not have dared to do so wantonly, but the frontier preparations must not be neglected. In the past, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had a strong army. And when the Turks reach the Wei Bridge, we can learn from this. It is advisable to train soldiers and horses, be careful in scouting, plan grain reserves, and make preparations in advance."

Zhu Gaosui's heart skipped a beat. As the two most powerful empires in the world, the Ming Empire and the Timurid Empire were only separated by the Besbali Khanate (later renamed Yilibali) in the Western Regions, and they were also separated from each other. Everyone knows how powerful the other party is. Now there is an alarm in Gansu. Is the Timur Empire planning to take action?

Of course, Song Sheng only said "it seems intentional" without any concrete evidence. Taking the humiliation of Tang Taizong's Weishui River as an example, he only suggested taking more precautions to avoid being surprised.

Zhu Di pointed at the huge Kantu map with a long pole. Stretching for thousands of miles from west to east was the northern defense line of the Ming Empire.

"Westernmost."

Jin Zhong reported the count with an expressionless face: "The commander-in-chief of Gansu Province, Xining Marquis Song Sheng, has ten Gansu guards under his command, totaling 57,045 people in the Mabu Banner Army."

Zhu Di's long pole continued to move eastward.

"Ningxia's chief military officer, Ningyuan Hou He Fu, has four Ningxia guards under his command, totaling 24,413 people in the Mabu Banner Army."

This was the result of the reorganization of the troops of King Su and King Qing in the western section of the northern defense line. The total number of troops in Gansu and Ningxia was less than 80,000. This was not because the Ming Dynasty lacked troops, but because the Ming Dynasty was different from the Han, Tang and even the Song Dynasty. The economic center of gravity moved east and south, the food population in Guanxi decreased, and the Guanlong War Zone no longer became the core area of ​​the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty both centered on Guanzhong and tried their best to expand to the Western Regions, while the Song Dynasty In order to defend against Xixia, a large-scale Western Army was raised. The Ming Dynasty fought against the Mongols with the Western Front as the auxiliary and the Eastern Front as the main force. This was exactly the opposite direction from the Han and Tang Dynasties' operations against the Great Wall.

"What do you think about Timur? I heard that when Timur, the old cripple, went on an expedition against the Ottomans, he mobilized 600,000 to 700,000 soldiers. The 700,000 to 800,000 soldiers in Gansu and Ningxia were definitely not enough for a frontal confrontation. Not even enough.”

Zhu Di leaned on the long pole and looked at Zhu Neng and Qiu Fu.

"The most critical problem in Gansu and Ningxia is that the cities and fortresses are not strong enough, not that there are not enough people. Temujin demolished all the cities when he conquered Mongolia, but the Yuan Dynasty did not repair them. There was no war in the west of the Ming Dynasty, and we did not spend much effort to repair them. In fact, If it is strong enough, with the series of cities in the Hexi Corridor, even if Timur attacks, it will be enough for them to chew on." Qiu Fu analyzed.

Zhu Neng nodded slightly and then said: "Timur is good at attacking cities. I heard from Arab businessmen that many tall and strong famous cities in the Ottomans were captured by Timur using artillery and gunpowder."

"That's a problem."

Zhu Di nodded. The cities and fortresses in Gansu and Ningxia were too short and not strong enough to play a defensive role. The land there was sparsely populated and the roads were rugged, making it inconvenient to transport civil materials and build forts. It was not easy for a while. Can't be solved.

At this time, Jin Zhong suddenly said: "But there is no need for us to change our current plan just because of a piece of news from the Western Regions. No matter whether Timur dares to come to attack the Ming Dynasty or not, the preparations for the expedition of hundreds of thousands of people have to be carried out. It took half a year, and from Samarkand to Guanzhong, there is an extremely long Gobi Desert, stretching for eight thousand miles. There are basically not many tribes or oases in the middle to supply supplies. Even if there are, there is a question mark on how many armies can be supported. , so even if Timur is determined to attack the Ming Dynasty from now on, from preparation to rushing, by the time he reaches the border of the Ming Dynasty, it will be at the end of the third year of Yongle to the beginning of the fourth year of Yongle."

Zhu Di nodded. At least he could learn from several tribes close to Ming Dynasty. In the 35th year of Hongwu, several groups of caravans returning from Samarkand had not found any trace of the Timur Empire mobilizing troops. If Timur wanted to defeat the Ming Dynasty, he would have to pour out his country, and mobilization on this scale cannot be concealed. This news should be unmistakable. Even if we take a step back, even if the worst case scenario occurs, really In the next few months, during the Ming Dynasty's conquest of Annan, Timur's hundreds of thousands of troops suddenly appeared on the border of Gansu, but it was actually nothing.

Because the Ming Dynasty had no chance of losing in the frontal battlefield against Annan, and they maneuvered along the coastline. Even if they stopped fighting halfway, they could return very quickly, returning within a few months, and Gansu was still far away from the Ming Dynasty’s core ruling area. There are thousands of miles, and there are countless cities and guardhouses in between. The buffer space is really too big.

Therefore, no matter how you calculate it, it is impossible for the Ming Dynasty to cancel its current plan to attack Annan because of an unconfirmed news from Timur. The soldiers, horses, food, vehicles, and ships are all ready. They will only wait for the anniversary of Taizu's death to pass. It's time for a big war.

"Well, that's the truth."

Zhu Di thought about it and realized that this unexpected news would not affect the upcoming attack on Annan, so he ordered.

"He Fu, the Chief Military Officer of Ningxia, and the Marquis of Xining, Song Sheng, the Chief Military Officer of Gansu Province, were ordered to say: Today, the Imperial Heavenly Supervisor said that the moon has invaded the northeastern star of his family, and its ruler will be worried. He also said that Venus is out of Angbei, and our army is in the south. Your Majesty. Waiting to guard the border, always be vigilant when there is movement or silence, and do not be rash."

This is what he meant by telling He Fu and Song Sheng to strengthen their war preparations.

After the matters in the western section of the northern line were settled, Zhu Di's long pole was transferred to the Xuan and Da areas east of the Hetao.

Jin Zhong continued: "The remaining guards and horses of King Dai and King Gu, Datong Chief Soldier Ping'an and Xuanfu Chief Soldier Sheng Yong have been reorganized. Together with the troops and horses of Datong and Xuanfu, the reorganized force will be The total number of eight guards is 45,608."

Except for the guard post in Monan, Xuanfu and Datong are at the northernmost end of the defense line. To the south behind them is the jurisdiction of the King of Jin. The chief military officer of Datong, Ping An, the chief military officer of Xuanfu, Sheng Yong, and their three melons The two motley crews were the ones that grandma didn't care for and grandpa didn't love. They were obviously used as cannon fodder in the middle of the northern defense line.

And it is the kind of "both external and internal". Once the vassal is cut, the two major vassals, King Qin and King Jin, who are in a second-line preparation state on the northern defense line, will be reduced to Ping'an and Sheng Yong. Be a vanguard.

Continuing to the east, this is the center of gravity of the northern defense line of the Ming Empire, that is, the North Zhili and Liaodong defense lines.

Jin Zhong said slowly: "The right commander of the Beijing Rear Army Governor's Mansion and Zhenyuan Marquis Gu Cheng has the 61st Guards of Beizhili under his command, with a total of 345,418 people. The actual number of troops that can be mobilized is about for 110,000 people.”

Don't get me wrong, the reason why other places only have four to ten guards, but Northern Zhili has 61 guards and 340,000 people, is because the Yan army has a total establishment of 340,000 people. Among them, the main force of the Yan army going south is about 230,000 people. Currently, it is stationed in South Zhili. There are only 110,000 people who stay in their hometown in North Zhili, including many soldiers stationed in the field and wounded soldiers. , old and weak sergeants, with real combat effectiveness, about 73,000 people.

"The commander-in-chief of Liaodong, Baoding Marquis Mengshan, has eleven guards under his command, totaling 63,120 people in the Mabu Banner Army."

In this way, excluding the second-line troops of King Qin and King Jin, the distribution of available troops on the northern front of the Ming Empire is extremely clear.

There are 77,000 troops in Gansu and Ningxia in the western section, 45,000 troops in Xuanfu and Datong in the middle section, 136,000 troops in Beijing and Liaodong in the eastern section, and a total of 258,000 troops on the northern front.

In addition, Shandong and Huanghuai also have 60,000 Japanese troops and 20,000 naval troops to deal with North Korea and Japan. At the same time, they can also maneuver along the coast at any time.

In the direction of Nanjing, there are 230,000 main Yan Army troops and 80,000 Southern Army integrated troops, totaling 310,000 mobile troops.

Coupled with the more than 1.6 million garrison soldiers spread across the country who survived the Jingnan Campaign, the total national military strength of the Ming Empire reached 2.25 million.

Although the size of the total army of 2.49 million has been reduced compared with the 1.915 million guard troops and 575,000 flag troops used in field battles in the 26th year of Hongwu, it is still an extremely large number.

As the world's most powerful country today, the Ming Empire's total military strength is more than double that of the second-ranked Timurid Empire!

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty is really not afraid of the Timur Empire. With the national power, territory, and military strength of the Ming Dynasty, no country in the world has the ability to destroy the Ming Dynasty.

This was also the reason why Zhu Di dared to conquer Annan.

The number of the Ming army has almost caught up with the population of Annan!

"Can your body handle it?"

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Neng with concern.

"Ahem. It's nothing serious. I just have a cough recently."

Zhu Di nodded, a few kilometers away, Qiu Fu is too old, Xu Huizu is going north, Xu Jingchang is a kid, Li Jinglong is of adequate age, qualifications, and ability, but Zhu Di can't trust him. There is no particularly good reason at the moment, after all. You can’t just say that you won’t let Xian lead the army to the south because you have a cough, right? Therefore, the conquest of Annan had to be done by Zhu Neng.

Zhu Di discussed some details about the conquest of Annan with Zhu Neng, Qiu Fu, and Jin Zhong. The general things had been prepared long ago, and now they were just finalized. In this way, the entire plan for the conquest of Annan was completed. It has been completely implemented, and after only ten days, a piece of paper will be issued to send troops to the south.

After the three people dispersed, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaosui, who had been invisible for a long time, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"The merchants who came with the Japanese mission have started selling goods." Zhu Gaosui came closer and whispered.

"Um?"

Zhu Di was stunned and motioned to Zhu Gaosui to elaborate.

Zhu Gaosui explained the news he received today from beginning to end, including purchase restrictions, lotteries, and bargaining knives. Zhu Di pointed at him and smiled: "Guess whose idea this is?"

"This" Zhu Gaosui certainly knew the answer, but he couldn't say it.

"The Imperial Master always has an idea."

Zhu Di patted the table with the long pole in his hand, and told Zhu Gaosui: "As for the insufficient defense of the cities and fortresses in Gansu and Ningxia, you write a note and ask the national advisor to see if he has any good ideas, Timu Although the probability of the old cripple's invasion is not high now, it is always good to have some precautions."

"good."

Zhu Gaosui looked at his father and hesitated to speak.

"What do you want to ask?"

Zhu Di supported the long pole with both hands, leaned on the wooden table, and looked at him intently: "Do you want to ask if I acquiesced to Wang Jing in this matter? Do you want to ask if I transferred the imperial master without the imperial decree?" Are the Eagle Guards dissatisfied?"

"Yes, my father knows it well. No small thoughts of my son can escape my father's fiery eyes."

The word "fiery eyes and golden eyes" was learned by Zhu Gaosui from reading the Ming Pao newspaper. It is considered a popular vocabulary.

"Not intervening does not mean acquiescence. It was Wang Jing's own decision. He will bear the consequences. I am not as petty as you think, and of course I am dissatisfied. Any emperor would be dissatisfied. If you sit in my position, you I will also be dissatisfied, you know? But it’s just dissatisfaction.”

Zhu Di sighed and blew his beard: "Lao San, do you know the most important thing about being an emperor?"

"I dare not know."

The last dragon robe incident had already left Zhu Gaosui with a psychological shadow, and he directly covered his ears.

But it didn't work.

Zhu Di continued to talk to himself: "I have also read books these days. The "Book of Han" says it well. The husband is planning and planning, and the victory is thousands of miles away. I am not as good as the ovary; I control the country. I am not as good as Xiao He in pacifying the people, providing them with food, and constantly supplying them with food. I am not as good as Han Xin in defeating a million-strong army and conquering in battle. These three are all outstanding people, and I can use them. So take over the world."

"As for me, I am still much better at fighting than Emperor Taizu Gao of the Han Dynasty. Even if it is not to the extent of 'the more the better', two or three hundred thousand soldiers and horses are still more than enough. But every man has his own strengths and weaknesses. I will follow The late emperor is different, he doesn't like to comment on memorials. In terms of government affairs, having your elder brother help me saves me a lot of worry; in terms of thinking, I am stupid and can't scold those corrupt scholars, but having the Imperial Master help me also saves me a lot of worry."

"Anyone can be the emperor, but whether you can put the right people in the right positions and govern the world in an orderly manner is a science, and how to let the right people stay in the right place honestly?" Don’t cross the line in your position, that’s the most important thing.”

"Then let me ask you, the Imperial Master has overstepped his bounds in obeying the authority this time. If it were you, would you acquiesce in Wang Jing's stumbling block to the Imperial Master?"

"Honestly."

Zhu Gaosui put down his hands covering his ears and said honestly: "There is a high probability that he will acquiesce."

"stupid!"

Zhu Di cursed unceremoniously.

"I'm telling you, it's useless to beat people like the Imperial Master. Do you understand? If you ask him to do things, you have to follow the rules. Let me tell you clearly. Not only will I not condone Wang Jing, but I will also Support and reward the national master."

"Why?"

"Think for yourself."

Zhu Di continued to lean on the table with his eyes closed to relax. Zhu Gaosui pondered for a long time and asked tentatively:

"That is to say, although the Imperial Master has crossed the line, he does not have the ability to control a large-scale military power. Therefore, this is not a test of the father's tolerance. It is indeed just an accidental crossing of the line. Even if the Father does not care, the Imperial Master cannot actually deal with it. The military power is more controlled, so that punishment is not as good as reward. The national teacher himself also knows that what he did is inappropriate, and he has received a heavy reward. He must know that his father loves and protects him. In this way, his father has achieved both When the thread came, it didn’t chill the Imperial Master’s heart.”

"I guess you still have some sense."

"But the key is not actually online, but the people on both sides of the line, do you understand?"

Zhu Gaosui wanted to shake his head first, and then nodded.

Seeing Zhu Gaosui nod, Zhu Di stopped talking.

On the line of military power, on one side stood the noble military ministers, and on the other side stood not only the national advisor Jiang Xinghuo, but also the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi, who was even more important.

And this also implies that the conquest of Annan is different from the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion in Jiangnan. Zhu Di does not intend to let Jiang Xinghuo accompany the army to fight. At most, he can only deal with diplomacy and the disposal of Annan after pacifying Annan.

"However." Zhu Gaosui hesitated and said, "I really don't understand something, and I won't be happy if I don't complain."

"Say." Zhu Di raised his eyelids.

"Why didn't my father stop Wang Jing? In fact, if my father didn't stop him, it would have become acquiescence in the eyes of others."

Zhu Di clenched his fist, but instead of hitting Zhu Gaosui, he raised his index finger first.

"Sea ban."

Then Zhu Di raised his middle finger: "Open the middle method."

The last one is the ring finger: "Water transportation."

"do you understand?"

Zhu Gaosui was startled, a little in disbelief, and asked: "Father, you plan to take this opportunity to abolish the maritime ban, Kaizhongfa, and water transportation at the same time?!"

"good."

Zhu Di nodded and said, "So we have to find a reason to make them quarrel first."

Maritime bans and water transportation basically do not need special explanation, but "opening the law" needs to be discussed separately.

The so-called "Kaizhong method" means that this method was implemented by the Ming Dynasty court, using salt and tea as intermediaries, mainly official salt quotas, and recruiting merchants to deliver military grain, horses and other materials for the benefit of merchants.

Salt is one of the necessary nutrients for the human body to sustain life. Since the Western Han Dynasty, salt and iron have been the most important source of revenue for the country besides land taxes. Legal official salt was equivalent to wealth in the Ming Dynasty.

The "Kaizhong method" first originated in the third year of Hongwu. At that time, the border areas of Xuanfu and Datong in Shanxi were in urgent need of military rations. The imperial court recruited merchants to transport grain in exchange for salt. By leading the salt transportation and sales in designated areas, it was called Kaizhong, Shanxi merchants. It started from this; in the fourth year of Hongwu, the regulations of China Salt were formulated, taking into account the distance of roads, the amount of grain transported, and whether Chinese and Namibian merchants could make profits, etc., to determine the amount of grain exchange; after the fifth year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty court, according to needs, The Nachao Salt Method, Nama Salt Method, Natie Salt Method, Nano Tea Method, and Chinese Tea Yima Method were implemented successively.

No matter which method is used, the specific operating steps of the "Opening the Middle Method" are basically the same, and can be roughly divided into three steps: reporting the middle, guarding the support, and changing the market.

In the newspaper, the salt merchants transported the grain to the designated border area granary and exchanged it with the government for salt introduction in accordance with the requirements of the Ming Dynasty's investment invitation list; in the guard post, the salt merchants exchanged the salt introduction and used the salt introduction to wait at the designated salt field. Salt distribution; market exchange means that salt merchants transport the salt they obtain to designated areas for sale.

However, this policy has been implemented for thirty years, because the interest rate difference of salt is too attractive. From the clan, nobles and civil servants, seeing that holding salt Yin is profitable, they all sue for salt Yin and resell it to Salt merchants profited from it, a phenomenon known as "occupying nests". This phenomenon of "occupying nests" is getting worse and worse, which has greatly damaged the Kaizhong system and seriously affected the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty. Now it is imperative to reform the Salt Law to make up for the fiscal revenue of the imperial court.

The "Kai Zhong Fa" is inseparable from water transportation, because the essence of the Kai Zhong Fa is that the imperial court contracts the border army's grain and grass supplies to merchants for transportation. The merchants use the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for water transportation, because there is only the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for water transportation. This river runs through the north and south. Since the Sui Dynasty, it has been the main artery connecting the north and the south.

Chen Xuan, who set out from Wusongjiang a month ago, has already tested it and found that sea transportation of grain can completely replace water transportation. This has the basis for rectifying the "Opening Method".

Zhu Di had conquered Beiping in the 13th year of Hongwu and had been in Yanyun for 22 years. As the target of the "Opening the Middle Method", he saw clearly the disadvantages of this method. He had not had the opportunity to do it before, and he was afraid of it. It affected the reorganization of the empire's northern defense line after the Battle of Jingnan. Now that it was almost reorganized, it was natural to plan to take action against the "Kaizhongfa".

But taking action against the "Open China Law" is not that simple. There are too many interest chains involved. The northern defense line does need a large amount of food and other materials to be transported from the south. Even if the "Open China Law" is abolished, there will still be There are new ways to do it, and the interest groups originally cultivated by the "Open China Law" must be directed to new ways. Otherwise, it will be equivalent to offending a large number of people and at the same time abolishing its own northern defense line. After all, the soldiers will not have enough to eat. There will be mutiny.

"After the quarrel, what are you going to do?" Zhu Gaosui asked in a low voice.

"I don't know. We need to start arguing first. The Japanese mission's goods have caused a big fuss. The combination of tomorrow's unarmed free trade area in the future will definitely make the civil servants furious. The core issue is whether to completely lift the sea ban. , after all, even if Zheng He sails to the West, it will only be official trade, not private trade. If the maritime ban is not lifted, there will be no possibility of an unarmed free trade zone tomorrow." Zhu Di said with his hands on his hips.

"etc."

Zhu Gaosui looked at his father: "So what my father means is that this matter is actually a prelude to the unarmed free trade zone in the future. Whether the unarmed free trade zone can be realized tomorrow depends on whether the maritime ban is abolished. If we can understand , if the maritime ban is abolished, then the materials transported to the northern frontier army through private merchants can be transported by water instead of sea, and the opening of China can be reformed?"

"That's it."

Zhu Di looked at him and raised his eyebrows.

"Then how can we understand it?"

"It's up to the national master."

Zhu Di walked to the dragon chair, dipped his pen in ink, and wrote an imperial edict.

"I will give the national master Jiang Xinghuo a hundred taels of silver, twenty colored coins, three hundred ingots of banknotes, a gold talisman, a unicorn suit, and a mansion to show his ability to deal with the situation and thwart rebellion. Dr. Ronglu, Fengtian Fuyun, sincerely serving as a civil servant, Shangzhuguo."

Zhu Gaosui watched with fear.

For no other reason, the name given by Zhu Di is really interesting.

It needs to be explained one by one here. These three are rank officials, titles, and honorary titles. They are the three parallel honor systems of the Ming Dynasty, and they are all directly filled by Jiang Xinghuo.

Tejin Guanglu Doctor, the name of the official rank. In the Ming Dynasty, the civil and military officers were awarded Tejin Ronglu Doctor at the first rank, and Tejin Guanglu Doctor was promoted to Tejin Guanglu Doctor.

Therefore, this is a genuine rank official.

"Fengtian Fuyun, sincere and loyal civil servant" is the only title. Among the series of Fengtian Jingnan heroes, the most popular one is "Fengtian Jingnan, sincere and Xuanli military minister". A large number of princes and princes are like this , Gu Cheng is the tailor-made "Fengtian Yiyun Pushes the Chengxuanli Military Minister", Li Jinglong is also the tailor-made "Fengtian Fuyun Pushes the Chengxuanli Wuchen", there are three other military minister titles, and the civil servant title is only the Minister of the Ministry of War Ru Yu got it and became a "civilian who serves Tianyi's luck and keeps upright".

Obviously, Jiang Xinghuo's account ban was also tailor-made.

The last one is Shangzhu Kingdom.

Of course, the Shangzhu Kingdom here is not the real power division of the "Eight Pillars Kingdom of the Western Wei Dynasty". It is just a honorary title, but it is an extremely rare honorary title.

How difficult is it?

So far in the history of the Ming Dynasty, only Li Shanchang and Xu Da of the Hongwu Dynasty have been awarded alive. Those who have been awarded posthumously are Chang Yuchun and Jiangyin Marquis Wu Liang of the Hongwu Dynasty.

There was no such thing in the Jianwen Dynasty, but Jiang Xinghuo was the first in the Yongle Dynasty.

"Go and give it to the Imperial Master."

Zhu Gaosui walked out of Fengtian Hall with the imperial edict and couldn't help but look back at his father in the hall.

What a big chess game