My life skills in Daming Liver

Gao Gong dragged his tired body and followed the eunuch into the Wenhua Palace.

Over the past few days, Gao Gong has become even thinner, and the skin on his face is almost no longer able to hold any flesh. He looks completely different from the fat man he used to be when he was a Hanlin scholar.

Now all the officials in the capital call this Gaoge elder Mr. Ao.

Gao Gong felt happy when he heard this nickname. Nao Xianggong was the nickname given to Wang Anshi by officials in the Song Dynasty. Being able to be ranked alongside this famous reformer in the Northern Song Dynasty can better express his attitude towards promoting new affairs.

But these days, Gao Gong felt more and more that the country's affairs were difficult.

Things in politics never change instantly.

This is why when gambling on the fate of the country, we always look forward to using military victory to solve political problems.

Fighting is difficult, but compared with politics, the difficulty of fighting is nothing.

Just like a gambler who has been losing money, it is too difficult to find a winning strategy and slowly repay the money. It is more realistic to start a war stud and gamble your life.

But the problem now is that Southeast does not want to fight the Ming army at all, and the new Ming army in the three towns does not have the confidence to fight Southeast.

Things can only stay so frozen.

Now all the food in North China has to be thrown into the bottomless pit-like battlefield in Shandong.

There is also constant bad news in Huguang. Although the Southeast New Army entered Wuchang City, it was unable to attack other areas of Huguang.

However, this army that penetrated into the heart of the Ming Dynasty still affected the collection of summer grain in Huguang this year.

The Yangtze River route was cut off in the middle, making the cost of transporting grain much higher for the Ming Dynasty.

The main political issue in the Ming court was that it was hard to get rid of, and the gourd lifted up when the gourd was pressed.

In the Wenhua Hall, Emperor Longqing, who was sitting high on the throne, also lost some weight.

The emperor's face was abnormally flushed, and his spirit was also a little listless.

After the three assistant ministers of the cabinet and the six ministers entered the Wenhua Hall, the emperor couldn't wait to ask:

"Did the Southeast Thieves really create something that can fly?"

Yang Bo, the chief assistant of the cabinet, could no longer pretend to be dead at this time. He stepped forward and said:

"Reporting to your majesty, according to the investigation of Tianjin Guard, the Southeast Bandits have indeed created a device capable of flying. Someone also witnessed three soldiers of the Southeast Bandits walking out of the device. This device can not only fly, but also carry people."

The emperor was horrified and said: "Dago is not far from the capital. What if this thing flies to the Forbidden City?"

Sure enough, the emperor was not afraid of the role of hot air balloons in battlefield reconnaissance, but worried about his own safety.

When enemies can fly in the sky, the walls of the capital and the Forbidden City cannot provide the emperor with a sense of security. This is the biggest panic in the court today.

Seeing the emperor's appearance, Gao Gong could only stand up and say:

"Your Majesty, in fact, the thing made by the southeast thieves is not a mysterious fairy weapon."

"This is just a large Kongming Lantern."

Hearing the Kongming Lanterns, the emperor immediately understood and let go of the Aoshan lanterns. The sight of a thousand Kongming Lanterns flying into the sky still remained in the emperor's memory. He also praised Qingyuan Bo Li Wei, who organized the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

Gao Gong continued: "Just like the Kongming Lantern, the aircraft in the southeast can only rise and fall, but cannot control the direction of flight in the sky. Landing in the market outside the Dagu Bastion should be the result of the aircraft losing control."

"So although the Southeast can take people to the sky, it can't fly over the Forbidden City. Your Majesty, don't worry."

Emperor Longqing finally felt relieved. He looked at the ministers again. Yang Bo, the chief minister of the cabinet, said:

"If your Majesty is worried, you can build a city defense in Tianjin and a beacon tower between Tianjin and the capital. Once traces of aircraft from the southeast are discovered, immediately alert the capital, so that your majesty can feel at ease."

Emperor Longqing was overjoyed when he heard this, but Gao Gong immediately said:

"No!"

"Southeast has only a thousand troops stationed in Tianjin. Building city defenses for these thousand people would cost too much. It would be better to train a new army to station in Tianjin."

The Ming court's new army originally planned to train thirty towns, but after training three towns, the Ming court's finances were no longer able to bear it.

There is nothing that can be done about it. Training new soldiers is inherently expensive. Unlike the self-destructive hereditary military household system before the Ming Dynasty, new soldiers have to be given money and ammunition.

The cost of manufacturing qualified muskets was also high for the Ming Dynasty. It was not yet able to produce lightweight and airtight cannons, and had to purchase them from foreign businessmen.

In this way, the cost will naturally be higher.

Nowadays, Southeast has only trained six brigades of new troops. With Ming Ting's financial resources, it can no longer afford to train the new troops in the fourth town.

Gao Gong has been running around, hoping to form the fourth town of the New Army as soon as possible. This time he took the opportunity to propose a plan to form a New Army.

But Yang Bo, who has always been a good man, immediately objected.

"Each new army added to a town is a long-term expense, and raising and recruiting troops is also costly. Building city defenses in Tianjin only requires a one-time investment. In the future, only a small number of soldiers from the Beijing camp can be sent on duty. They can also monitor the movements at sea and prevent the southeastern thieves from coming again. Attacking the capital at sea is the only solution that will end once and for all."

Gao Gong immediately retorted and said:

"Mr. Yang Ge, the real solution once and for all is to train the new army to take back Taku."

Yang Bo was very tough this time and refused to give in at all and said:

"Recapture Taku? Then let Mr. Gao Ge personally lead the troops to try!"

The chief minister and the second minister of the cabinet had such a quarrel that other ministers could no longer watch the show.

Li Chunfang, the fourth assistant, immediately said: "Whether we want to train a new army or build a city defense, we should ask His Majesty to judge."

Everyone looked at the emperor, and the emperor on the throne also hesitated.

The thousand southeastern soldiers stationed in Dagu have always been a thorn in the emperor's side.

With the Daku Bastion, the southeastern army may land from the sea at any time, and it only takes one day to reach the capital.

Emperor Longqing really didn't want to continue hunting westward.

But the last Battle of Dagu had completely shattered the military morale of the Ming court.

Li Chengliang refused to lead his troops to attack the Dagu Fort, and the generals on all sides were unwilling to lead their troops.

The soldiers were frightened when they heard about the Daku Bastion, and the soldiers of the Tianjin Guards refused to even leave Tianjin City, let alone attack Daku.

The emperor looked at his first assistant, then at Gao Gong, and finally decided to use the old method.

"Let the Ministry of Industry send capable ministers to Tianjin to repair the city defenses."

"According to Mr. Yang Ge's wishes, a beacon tower should be set up between the capital and Tianjin to observe the movements of Dagu at any time."

Yang Bo's face was full of joy, while Gao Gong's face was gloomy.

In Dagu City, no one was injured in the last Kuafu test, and the damage to the hot air balloon was not serious.

Li Yangong had someone replace the winch with a stronger and more reliable one, and had someone sew the balloon in preparation for the second test.

Gao Wuguan asked doubtfully: "Why do we need to test it in Dagu?"

Li Yangong said: "This is the plan of the staff department. First, the weather conditions in the north and the south are different. We need to test the hot air balloon's wind resistance in the north."

"The second purpose is to intimidate Ming Ting."

Gao Wuguan then nodded and said: "It is true that Mingting will definitely be frightened when he sees Kuafu. This is equivalent to increasing Mingting's defense investment in Dagu and reducing the pressure on the Shandong front line."

Li Yangong nodded and said, "Brother Gao, you don't know that the pressure in the southeast is also great now."

"The Grand Governor has said more than once that the southeastern expansion was too rapid, and neither the administration nor the military could keep up. Now we need to digest the occupied areas first."

Gao Wuguan also nodded. Starting from this year, except for Guangxi and Wuchang, Southeast Asia is only digesting the areas that have been controlled and occupied.

Even after entering Wuchang City, they did not expand their results and attack other areas of Huguang.

Gao Wuguan knew very well that the new army was different from the army of the old era. The expansion of the army could not be completed with a mobilization order from the Governor's Office.

The new army requires soldiers with higher quality, which is not only physical quality, but also cultural quality.

Musketeers need strict discipline, the ability to understand orders, and a spirit of unity and cooperation.

The requirements for gunners are even higher. They need to be able to write and calculate, which is higher than the arithmetic level required by ordinary accountants.

Not to mention naval officers whose training cycle is longer.

The graduation cycle for junior officers at the Nanjing Army School is four months. Including post-term refresher training, training a qualified mid-level officer requires an average of seven months of full-time study, plus at least half a year of practical training in military camps.

The graduation period for junior officers at Fuzhou Naval Academy is eight months. These eight months are just basic crew courses. To become a qualified ship commander, you also need to study astronomy, geography, oceanography, and meteorology. , ballistics and many other disciplines, and also requires rich navigation experience.

Such terrifying training costs make even the affluent Southeast have a hard time.

Not to mention the long-term rent and tax reduction campaign implemented by Su Ze in the Southeast to liberate the huge agricultural population from the bondage of the land, but the workshops have not yet been able to provide enough tax revenue. During such a transformation period, the Southeast also needs a lot of time to digest.

Li Yangong said: "The only thing that the general staff is not sure about now is whether the Ming Dynasty will build static defense fortifications in Tianjin or expand and train new troops to strengthen Dagu's defense line."

"For the future decisive battle in Shandong, Mingting will have some trouble training the new army, which will increase the pressure on the Jianghuai defense line."

Gao Wuguan smiled: "Don't worry about this. With the Ming Dynasty's urine, they will definitely build city defenses in Tianjin."

Li Yangong asked in confusion: "Why did Brother Gao make such a judgment?"

Gao Wuguan smiled and said: "This is because the staff does not understand the Ming Dynasty civil servants."

"You don't understand civil servants? Why civil servants?"

Gao Wuguan said: "My father once talked to me about the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty's military. One of the major shortcomings was the construction of city defenses."

"Why?"

The Marquis of Linhuai's family had been away from the court for a long time. Li Yangong's father had only regained the title. His family was still a distinguished noble who had been stationed in the south for a long time, so naturally he lacked understanding of the Ming Dynasty court.

Gao Wuguan said: "My father said that looking at historical records, almost all civil servants who have made achievements in military affairs and can be promoted will have records of how many meters of city walls they built, how many cities they renovated, how many fortresses they built, and they all have records. Because of these meritorious deeds, he was promoted and recorded in the official records as a famous minister."

Of course Li Yangong had not read the actual records, but he asked doubtfully: "Isn't this the work of a capable minister? Isn't it good to build a city wall?"

Gao Wuguan said: "Building city defenses is not a problem. The problem is that building city defenses has become an assessment standard. This is the problem."

"?"

"To deal with the northern border troubles, there are only two methods: training troops and building city defenses."

"For military training, you have to practice it yourself, offend the soldiers and gentry, and raise supplies and supplies. If there is a problem with the soldiers you manage, you will be accused by the court. If you bring out too elite soldiers, you will be jealous of the court."

Li Yangong was silent. His family was noble, so he naturally understood this.

"Building city defenses is different. How many meters of city walls have been built, how many fortresses have been built, these are all tangible and can be seen, and they are all real contributions."

"The imperial court will not be suspicious, and the local government can benefit from the city defense construction project, and the builders can easily be recognized by the imperial court for promotion, so of course they choose to build the city defense."

Li Yangong thought for a while, and compared with the thankless military training, building city defenses did seem to have more benefits.

It's no wonder that the Ming Dynasty built so many city defenses in the north, but they still couldn't stop Anda's invaders.

Gao Wuguan added: "Building city defenses has some benefits."

"What?"

"My father said that not everyone can handle this matter of military training. Thousands of armies are easy to get, but one general is hard to find. You nobles who pass down the art of war in your family, it is not easy to produce a famous general, let alone many ministers. How can you become a master of the art of war all of a sudden if you have never read a military book before? Do you think everyone is a genius like the Grand Governor?"

Li Yangong nodded.

"But it is much easier to build city defenses. The secret lies in the funding."

"Funding?"

Gao Wujian nodded and said: "If we can get the support from the superiors and the Ministry of Industry is willing to give money, even a pig can build the city defense beautifully. When the time comes, we will report it to the Ming court for acceptance, and we will be promoted based on our merit. This is amazing It’s much more convenient than training troops.”

"When Yan Song and his son were in power, they relied on this move to promote many of their own people. They had never led an army to fight, but they were able to gain the reputation of 'knowing soldiers'."

"And those officials who really know how to lead troops will never be promoted in their lifetime if they cannot get support from their superiors."

"Between training troops and building city defenses, the Ming Dynasty will definitely choose to build city defenses."

Li Yangong said with emotion: "My father is really a great talent. If he can see these problems, can't he change anything?"

Gao Wuguan lowered his head and said, "It is precisely because he knows the problem and cannot change it that my father is in pain."

"These problems are long-lasting and cannot be changed by him alone."

"And these cruxes also have the biggest deadlock."

"Dead knot?"

Gao Wuguan said: "This is what I didn't think about until I arrived in the southeast. Why did the Ming court have so many problems? Why did these problems become a dead end in a chain? The biggest problem is this dead end - the emperor."

"What does this have to do with the emperor?"

Gao Wuguan said: "The emperor is the only man in the world."

"Whether it is a wise king or a foolish king, they all have the world in one person. Their enemies are the clan, the nobles, the relatives, the eunuchs, the aristocratic families, the powerful, the civil servants, the generals, the common people, the foreign races, and the world. people."

"Everyone knows that training soldiers is the best, but soldiers cannot give the emperor a sense of security."

"Useless city defenses and fortresses can give the emperor a sense of security."

"If Brother Li sat on the throne, what would you choose? Uncontrolled officers and soldiers, or silent walls and fortresses?"

Li Yangong was stunned.

"No matter who the Mingjun Holy Master is, he is just a Dufuer."

Gao Wuguan said no more and looked towards the distant capital.

Sure enough, Qian Duo, a protégé of Yang Bo, the chief minister of the cabinet, and the minister of the Ministry of Industry, took charge of Tianjin's military preparation, organized Tianjin's city defense, and built a beacon tower between the capital and Tianjin, even reporting the developments of the Dagu Bastion to the capital.

After Qian Bingbei took office, he immediately started a large-scale construction project and recruited a large number of civilians to build the city wall.

The most exaggerated thing is the beacon tower. Qian Bingbei went crazy to repair the beacon tower. The people nearby were miserable and called him "Qian Fenghuo".

Such a ridiculous move earned Qian Duo praise from everyone in the Ming court, praising him for his ability to know soldiers.

Gao Gong was powerless to deal with such a result. He could only focus on new affairs.

At the same time, in the backyard of the Southeast Governor's Mansion, Su Ze and Lu Gang looked at the complex machines in front of them.

Fang Aizhu stepped forward and lit the machine. Su Ze poured water into the pipe and the flames started burning.

Lu Gang opened the pressure relief valve, and the connecting rod connected to the piston began to rotate slowly.

"Grand Governor! Success!"

Lu Gang looked at Su Ze excitedly, but Su Ze shook his head and said:

"It's still early! Such a large combustion chamber can only generate so much power, which is not even enough to drag a mule machine."

Su Ze was a little troubled. The principle of the steam engine was very simple. After solving the process of airtight pipes, he quickly made this prototype machine.

However, Su Ze studied liberal arts before traveling through time and did not know the blueprints of steam engines at all. The steam engine he made was too inefficient and was obviously not a commercial version improved by Watt.

Such a steam engine has no advantage at all over water power.

During this period of time, Su Ze has been developing the [Mechanical Processing] skill in the workshop, but there is still a long way to go before reaching Level 15.

Su Ze extinguished the steam engine and began to think about how to improve the machine.

In the workshop in Hangzhou, machinist Ren Fu, who had received investment from Second Master Yu, looked at the complex machine in front of him and lit the coal in the combustion chamber.

It's really not a fat bird's trick. Some operations are just a matter of stance.

Social problems are just like treating diseases. There are no textbook typical symptoms that can be cured by medicine.

A real serious disease is one in which multiple diseases are entangled together, and thousands of factors hinder each other, and in the end the medicine will be ineffective.